VIDEODROME
DEVID CRONENBERG, 1983
WHAT can be understood: work can change your body.
- In David Kronenberg's classic body horror, the protagonist works for a TV channel that broadcasts violent images to satisfy people's desire for violence. In search of material for a new show, he comes across a mysterious channel where people seem to be being killed and tortured for real. As a result, his body begins to transform, and he... gives birth to a gun. People with sedentary work will understand the main character: without movement, the body does not change for the better.
"Two days, one night"
DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT
Jean-Pierre and Luke DARDENNA, 2014
hat can you understand is that you don't know what's going on on the souls of colleagues.
In a fresh production drama of Belgian realists, which was played by Marionne Kotiyar, suddenly nominated for this role in the "Oscar", the protagonist tries to convince her employees at a meeting to vote to leave her at work, thereby abandoning the bonus of € 1000. Meeting each colleague leads to unpredictable results: someone falls into rage, someone weeps and repents, someone changes their lives and becomes the best friend of the heroine.
"Castle"
DAS SCHLOSS
Mihaël Haneke, 1997
WHAT can be understood: work is both a punishment and a reward.
- "The Castle is a screen version of a novel by Franz Kafka, so the story should be well known to everyone. Haneke's cold style of failing into the black space of a blank frame between scenes underscores the terrible absurdity of the surveyor's story, K. He wants to start his work, but to do so he needs to fight the bureaucratic system of the Castle, which sends him more and more humiliation.
"Star map"
MAPS TO THE STARS
DEVID KRONENBERG, 2014
WHAT can be understood: work can drive you crazy.
- David Kronenberg made a film about Hollywood, and the work there, of course, is unique. But there is no escape from your problems, even if you are a world-famous actor: all the heroes of the "Star Trek" are haunted by ghosts of the past, expressed in mental disorders. The stress of working in the film industry only warms them up to the boiling point with assassinations, murders and arson.
"Pretending to be a victim".
KIRILL SERBENNICOV, 2006.
WHAT MAY INCLUDE: A job can take away your identity.
- The protagonist of Kirill Serebrennikov's black comedy, based on the script by the Presnyakov brothers, works for the police: he depicts the victim of a crime during investigative experiments. He is even more than an actor: every working day he imitates the cruel death of another person. No wonder that his personality is transforming - and this leads to a Hamlet's bloody finale.
"The contract of the draughtsman"
THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT
PETER GRINUAI, 1982
What can be understood: A working relationship is a personal relationship.
- Although many people try to carefully distinguish between a friendly (or closer) relationship with colleagues - and especially the Anglo-Saxon tradition - it is sometimes not easy to do so. The protagonist of Greenaway's costume film, a talented artist, paints the estate of an unpleasant aristocratic family somewhere in England and has an overly close relationship with them. As a result, his drawings become evidence in dark history, and those who hired him - his closest friends and worst enemies.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
UES ANDRESSON, 2014
Whan be understood: work can make you a historical character.
- Some people have made history, though they didn't want to. Once you're in the right place at the right time, you can be part of a historical event by simply doing your job. This happened to the protagonist of the Grand Budapest Hotel, who, although living in a fictional country, heroically fulfilled his duties (including emotional support from the hotel's clients), was one of the participants in the confrontation with the repressive regime.
"Entertainment time"
PLAY TIME
JACK TATI, 1967
What can be understood: a modern office is a space of absurdity.
- In the comedy "Entertainment Time" Jacques Tati decided to convey the atmosphere of a modern city, which is in constant motion, which is very easy to get lost in. The action begins in the office of an institution, which consists of many rooms behind partitions, where it is absolutely impossible to navigate. In search of the necessary person the main character will pass many kilometers, until he will appear there where it was not necessary for him to go at all.
"Poliss"
MAYVENN, 2011
WHAT can be understood: the work can open the door to hell.
- The protagonists of the film "Poliss" are French police officers involved in the fight against crimes against children and adolescents. Despite the fact that it's a kind of comedy, the film shows how evil and absurd a person can meet every day - and be obliged to do so. Some heroes cannot stand the responsibility: the final