Sensing trouble, Blanco begins meddling in their lives – subtly at first, then more blatantly. Miralles confesses things are not great at home and his wife Aurora (Mara Gull) is asking him for “air”.

Blanco’s childhood friend Miralles (Manolo Solo) is making expensive mistakes. Meanwhile, problems are emerging inside the plant also. The firing doesn’t really go to plan for Blanco however, as the desperate Jose sets up a surprisingly effective one-man picket line outside the factory. So from the outset, it’s clear Blanco isn’t the caring father-figure he tries to portray to the world. As the film opens, two events are happening simultaneously – Blanco is giving a speech to workers about how the company is like a family and his manager Rubio (Rafa Casteljon) is firing long-time employee Jose (Óscar de la Fuente). The company is in the running for a regional award – important because it can influence how subsidies are distributed. The “boss” of the title is Blanco (Bardem) – we’re never given his first name.

Greed, rage, injustice, duplicity and even love are aired in this fascinating – and very funny – film from director Fernando León de Aranoa. The Good Boss is a very clever look at human behaviour through the lens of a nondescript workplace. So after his recent appearance in the sci-fi epic Dune, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that his next appearance is in a small Spanish film set in a factory. Despite being an international superstar, he still finds time to appear in productions from his homeland. Javier Bardem seems like Spain’s equivalent of Hugh Jackman.

Review the boss movie