Toronto – As I watched this film, 3 words kept floating to the tip of my tongue. It’s not that Human Resource Manager (HRM) is unoriginal. But the setup and story lends itself to a natural, side-by-side comparison with Little Miss Sunshine. While the latter focuses on character growth through waves and waves of ridiculous scenarios, I find that HRM is a lot about testing one man’s perseverance amidst waves and waves of bull$#!&: how far he will go to “Be a man. Do the right thing”.
The narrative is such that no names are necessary. The HRM of a large bread factory in Jerusalem simply found himself, one day, beset by his boss and the media for the death of a migrant employee during a suicide bombing. Having never even met this worker, and did not even authorize her hiring or termination, the HRM is naturally distant. His instincts tells him that this hot potato landed on HIS plate because the boss is unhappy with him. As a reflex, he wants to do a good job this time to prove himself. Not to mention that one reporter is scrutinizing his every move against an inflated moral code – and if he fails the slandering articles will be all over town. So he delved into this woman’s past, searching for something that he can use to diffuse the situation. Then he realizes the real problem… something had to be done about the body. The custom is to send it back home – in this case, somewhere far in the Eastern bloc. So, the ragtag band of brothers including the vice consul (of whatever country, who’s really the driver of the Jewish consulwoman), the reporter, HRM, and eventually, the dead woman’s son, begins a journey in a 1950s van towards her remote village.
What really struck me throughout the movie was not how the HRM is able to do the right, honorable thing. If he didn’t, there wouldn’t be a story, nor the comedic anecdotes. It is how neglectful everyone has been until this woman is dead. Then, and only then, do they start to compensate – even complete strangers like the HRM will go to great lengths to avoid feeling guilty. The HRM’s daughter even asks: “how come you didn’t know that one of your workers is dead?”. Can you imagine if she cared enough to ask: “how come you didn’t know that one of your workers is starving to death?” That’s the biggest irony in this film. This is also reflected by the fact that the only character whose name we know, is that of the dead woman. No one else really mattered. There is a scene where the son tries desperately to come to terms with her death. While the HRM tries to comfort him, he grew angry at the HRM, who then said, “I’m sick of you people”. I think that’s the punchline of this film. A human resources manager sees what people (himself included) do, and is sickened by it. I feel that the son’s coming-to-age is a cliche that is simply a consequence of the events. I actually like this film, despite the appearance of it being a Little Miss Sunshine clone. The version I saw was unpolished, with conspicuous cuts/edits. But that doesn’t distract much and I believe it’s close enough to a production copy. If you don’t think too much, the comedic elements of the film carry most of the weight throughout, and easily glides you to the end. It’s a little dry – don’t expect Hollywood devices being used.
You can still catch the film: Sunday, 530pm (Scotia Bank theater).
