La Loi du marché

2015, France, directed by Stéphane Brizé

Right up my alley: Vincent Lindon combined with echoes of Pialat. I'm not at all familiar with Stéphane Brizé's work, though some of the French-language criticism suggests I should be. Lindon, in full-on Tiredest-Man-in-the-World mode, is an unemployed factory worker seemingly caught in a spiral of re-training absurdity, who eventually finds new employment as a supermarket security guard. At its heart, the film is -- as the French title implies -- a pretty devastating critique of the human cost of the frontlines of capitalistic endeavour, and the scenes where Lindon has to preside over pathetically petty infractions are quite excruciating. Many of the parts are played by non-professionals, and the seams are invisible -- Lindon feels fully part of the world seen here.