The Measure of a Man * * * * 1/2

Not every future is bright.
The Measure of a Man is so much like a “fly on the wall’ documentary you could be forgiven for thinking that is what you are watching.
Of course the strategy is not new - it has been done in many dramas before this - so I cannot give praise for originality so much as effectiveness. And The Measure of a Man is quite an effective film.
I found it to be a hypnotic film - and I’m still scratching my head and asking myself why?  I mean there are scenes in here which are so every day, so undramatic you can’t believe the Director would want to include them. Yet when you watch them you are fascinated.  Job interviews, a dance lesson, a bunch of office workers singing a farewell song to a member of staff.  
Most of these scenes look harmless, and the conduct of those in the scene comes across as perfectly reasonable and acceptable.  If you were Thierry, the main character, you would probably accept them just as he does.  But you are constantly feeling uncomfortable with the situation.
Thierry has fallen between the cracks.  Now in his late fifties, not financially or mentally prepared to retire, we learn that he has been a machinist all his working life. But in this age of robotic manufacturing he has skills that are no longer required.  The exposure of a useless re-training system in France which benefits no one but a bunch of self-serving trainers exploiting a Government "initiative" is something we are familiar with in Australia too.
Thierry and his wife have a special-needs son which brings about further financial pressure. He finally finds work as a security officer in a huge retailer (the store looks like a giant Aldi).  And it is in this soulless environment that the compromises he has had to make to his life are brought to a head.
I found it to be a very affecting film, where most things seems right, sensible and reasonable but are in fact utterly brutal.

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