Human Resources
Shooting Gallery | Release Date: September 15, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Terrific French film about that most universal of subjects - work. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
This superbly acted, expressively filmed story offers a rare blend of compelling drama, ethical awareness, and sheer human emotion. Read full review
100
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Restrained, tough, and subtle enough to be as engrossing on the second viewing as it was on the first. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
When it all comes to a head, what seems ordinary blossoms into something deeply complex and emotional. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Acompelling, cant free drama about clashing class systems and challenged family relationships that's all the more engrossing for its organic, near documentary style. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This sharp, convincing, and utterly contemporary political film calls to mind some of Ken Loach's work, full of passion as well as precision. Read full review
90
VarietyDavid Rooney
A cogent human drama. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
An extraordinarily absorbing neo-realistic tragedy. Read full review
80
Film.comSean Means
Human Resources resonates because it restores the humanity to that dehumanizing title phrase. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The movie's dramatic climax is a father-son confrontation of stunning cruelty. Although the movie stops short of outright tragedy, it is suffused with a grief born of rifts that may never be mended. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Concerned with fathers and sons, expectations and dreams, ideals and reality, this completely engrossing film gets more involving as it goes on.
80
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
What makes this straightforward film so incredibly moving is that it keeps its scathing political commentary firmly rooted in everyday struggle. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
What could easily have been a dry, didactic film is granted unusual power by Cantet's cast, all of whom seem to innately understand the personal nature of Cantet's subject. Read full review
79
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Most tenderly, the film deciphers the true meaning of its corporate-speak title in Franck and his father's impassioned struggle to ensure each other's welfare. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
At its best when it's hovering around the muted dysfunction between a father and a son, who never understood each other to begin with. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A valuable, heartbreaking film about the way those resources are plugged into a system, drained of their usefulness and discarded. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A rare film about the class and educational divide that can happen even within families. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Offers highly effective performances by a cast of real-life employees without previous acting experience, who also collaborated on the intriguing screenplay. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
A fresh, striking and rewarding piece of work. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The result is an undeniable and effective authenticity. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Part of the problem may be the use of non-actors in most of the roles. They look like real people, and they are entirely believable, but none has any kind of star charisma. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Far from an amusing romp. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Human Resources, which gets my vote for most sarcastic title of the year, isn't a stand up and cheer kind of film. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
A working-class drama that has its heart in the right place but undercuts itself by stacking the deck, letting its main character off too lightly and being overly impressed with its own profundity. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
Works so well for the first 40 minutes or so, that when the bottom falls out of it, I felt more than disappointed. I felt betrayed. Read full review
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