The Good Boss

Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem stars in this darkly funny social satire as Blanco, the charismatic owner of a family-run factory in a provincial Spanish town, who is under pressure as he covets a local award for business excellence. As Blanco awaits the imminent visit from a committee that will decide if his business merits the award, he pulls out all the stops to make sure everything is perfect. But the veneer of the company cracks as Blanco has to deal with a vengeful fired worker, a depressed supervisor, and an infatuated, ambitious intern, among other disasters. Working against the clock, an increasingly harried Blanco works to resolve every issue with his employees, crossing every imaginable line in the process. Bardem delivers a magnetic performance in this bitingly humorous comedy that received a record-breaking 20 nominations at the 2022 Goya Awards, with wins including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. (Dir. by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, 2021, Spain, in Spanish with English subtitles, 116 mins., Not Rated)