Two years after an agreement which saw the employees working more hours for the same pay in return for promises on job security, the Perrin car components plant in Agen is now scheduled for closure. The 1100 workers come out on strike, determined to keep the plant open, and the storyline follows their efforts to engage with the company, the parent company in Germany, and the French government.
Shot as a docu-drama, with a lot of hand held camera work, the director and editing doesn't quite get right the balance between those two approaches. We see something of the domestic circumstances of strike leader Laurent Amédéo (Vincent Landon), but otherwise the characters are presented only in their roles as protagonists in the dispute. The film is strong in portraying the impenetrability, unaccountability and basic inhumanity of the neoliberalism that has bedevilled western capitalism, and the internal conflicts that frequently beset longlasting industrial actions, but there is a sense of detachment that makes it hard for the audience to relate with individuals. And when the shock ending arrives it feels out of place with what has gone before.
For all that I found the time went by quickly enough, so the pace is well judged and there is enough of real life in there to provoke anger and frustration with the actions of the management, and the naivety of the workers. It feels like timely viewing in these times of the 'gilets jaunes', but needs an injection of dramatic tension to raise above 'worthy' status.
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