''The Good Boss'' ( es, El buen patrón, links=no) is a 2021 Spanish

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed and written by

Fernando León de Aranoa Fernando León de Aranoa (born 26 May 1968) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director. León de Aranoa entered the film industry as a screenwriter. He made his feature film directorial debut with '' Familia'', which won him the Goya Award for ...

and starring

Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopath, ...

. A corporate satire, the plot tracks a charismatic and manipulative factory owner meddling in the lives of his employees. The film received a record-breaking 20 nominations to the 36th Goya Awards, winning 6 (

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, Original Screenplay, Score and

Editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

Plot

Julio Blanco, the charismatic and manipulative owner of a family-run factory of industrial scales in a Spanish provincial town, meddles in the lives of his employees in an attempt to win an award for business excellence.

Cast

Production

''The Good Boss'' was produced by Reposado PC, The Mediapro Studio and Básculas Blanco AIE, with the participation of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

, TV3 and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. Filming began in Spain in October 2020 and wrapped in December 2020. It was shot in

Móstoles Móstoles () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. With over 200,000 inhabitants, it is the region's second most populated municipality after Madrid. Móstoles was a small town for a long time, but expanded rapidly in the ...

and other locations across the

Madrid region The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

Release

The film premiered at the

69th San Sebastián International Film Festival The 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival took place from 17 to 25 September 2021 in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The festival opened with Zhang Yimou's '' One Second''. Marion Cotillard and Johnny Depp were awarded the Donostia ...

on 21 September 2021. Distributed by Tripictures, it was then released theatrically in Spain on 15 October 2021. It became the 4th highest-grossing Spanish film release in the domestic market in 2021 with a revenue of 3,278,021

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

and 518,254 viewers in the aforementioned year. Cohen Media Group acquired US rights to the film. Distributed by Bim, it theatrically released in Italy on 23 December 2021 as ''Il capo perfetto'', whereas, distributed by PRIS Audiovisuais, it opened in Portuguese theatres on 20 January 2022 under the title ''O Bom Patrão''. The film was set for a 28 April 2022 opening in Argentine theatres. ''The Good Boss'' was announced as the opening film of the 39th Miami Film Festival (4 March 2022). A 9 June 2022 release date was set for the film's opening in Chilean theatres, distributed by

Star Distribution Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 26 August 2022, to be followed by a wider release on 2 September.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an 93% rating based on 108 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The critics consensus reads: "Led by Javier Bardem's charismatic performance and writer-director Fernando León de Aranoa's sharp humor, ''The Good Boss'' is a workplace satire worthy of promotion." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film holds a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Guy Lodge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Fernando León de Aranoa's corporate satire is too long and languidly paced to pull off its farcical inclinations, but it gets by on its star's magnetism." Jordan Mintzer of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Slickly entertaining, considering its rather weighty subject matter..." Javier Zurro of ''

El Español ''El Español'' is a Spanish online newspaper which started in 2015. It has its headquarters in Avenida de Burgos, 16D, 7º, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid. History In 2014 Pedro J. Ramírez was dismissed as the director from the newspaper '' El M ...

'' deemed the film to be the best Aranoa film since the 2002 ''

Mondays in the Sun ''Mondays in the Sun'' ( es, Los lunes al sol, links=no) is a 2002 drama film directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, starring Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar and José Ángel Egido. The film depicts the degrading effects of unemployment on a group of ...

'' and the best Spanish comedy in (many) years, a genre dominated for some time now by either family comedies or remakes of international titles, generally lacking in original proposals. Raquel Hernández Luján of ''

HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...

'' gave the film 90 out of 100 points, deeming it "excellent", praising the "sharp script", the (actors') direction, and the "careful mise-en-scène". Quim Casas of ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sel ...

'' considered the film to be "a good

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The or ...

that could well be the counterpart to ''Mondays in the Sun''". Jonathan Holland of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' considered the film to be "slickly-made and entertaining, but ultimately a little déjà vu". Plotwise, he deemed the film to be "as smooth and efficient as a well-run factory". Mirito Torreiro of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó a ...

'' gave ''The Good Boss'' 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting an immense, eminent Javier Bardem in one of his most dazzling performances to date ("he is, quite simply, the movie"), also considering that Aranoa offers viewers a dark comedy displaying a grim portrayal of

labour relations Labor relations is a field of study that can have different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In an international context, it is a subfield of labor history that studies the human relations with regard to work in its broadest ...

. Reviewing for ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a Spanish language monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin) ...

'', Santiago Alverú gave the film 5 out of 5 stars, writing that the political commitment from León de Aranoa and Javier Bardem mixed with the expressive talent of both of them have created a highly entertaining vindication, concluding that "except for

Amancio Ortega Amancio Ortega Gaona (; born 28 March 1936) is a Spanish billionaire businessman. He is the founder and former chairman of Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara and Bershka clothing and accessories shops. As of November 202 ...

, the whole of Spain should like it". The AACCE selected the film as the Spanish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its u ...

over '' Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea'' and ''

Parallel Mothers ''Parallel Mothers'' ( es, Madres paralelas, links=no) is a 2021 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film stars Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit and features Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Israel Elejalde, Julieta Serrano ...

'', and it made the 15-film pre-nomination shortlist in December 2021. It also chose the film as the Spanish submission for Best Ibero-American Film at the 64th

Ariel Awards The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "3" , 2021 , , 13th , , Best Original Screenplay , , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , , align = "center" , , - , rowspan = "2" , 27th Forqué Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Fiction or Animation Film , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Actor (film) , , Javier Bardem , , , - , align ="center" rowspan ="72" , 2022 , , rowspan ="9",

9th Feroz Awards The 9th ceremony of the Premios Feroz, known as the Feroz Awards 2022, presented by the Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España, took place at the Auditorio de Zaragoza in Zaragoza, Spain, on 29 January 2022, to recognize the bes ...

, , colspan ="2" , Best Comedy Film , , , , rowspan="9" , , - ,

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

, , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - ,

Best Actor (film) ''Best Actor'' is a 2010 Malayalam-language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Martin Prakkat. It stars Mammootty, Sruthi Ramakrishnan, Nedumudi Venu, Lal, Salim Kumar, Vinayakan, Master Vivas, Sreenivasan, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Ma ...

, , Javier Bardem , , , - , Best Supporting Actress (film) , , Almudena Amor , , , - , rowspan="2", Best Supporting Actor (film) , , Manolo Solo , , , - , Celso Bugallo , , , - , Best Original Score , , Zeltia Montes , , , - , Best Trailer , , Maurits Malschaert & Mick Aerts , , , - , rowspan = "4" , 1st Carmen Awards , , Best Supporting Actor , , Manolo Solo , , , , rowspan = "4" , , - , Best New Actress , , Mara Guil , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Pau Esteve , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Fernando García , , , - , rowspan = "13" , 77th CEC Medals , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "13" , , - , Best Direction , , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Actor , , Javier Bardem , , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Supporting Actor , , Manolo Solo , , , - , Celso Bugallo , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Sonia Almarcha , , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best New Actor , , Óscar de la Fuente , , , - , Tarik Rmili , , , - , Best New Actress , , Almudena Amor , , , - , Best Original Screenplay , , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Pau Esteve Birba , , , - , Best Editing , , Vanessa Marimbert , , , - , Best Score , , Zeltia Montes , , , - , rowspan ="20", 36th Goya Awards , , colspan ="2" ,

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, , , , rowspan="20" , , - ,

, , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Actor , , Javier Bardem , , , - , rowspan="3", Best Supporting Actor , , Fernando Albizu , , , - , Celso Bugallo , , , - , Manolo Solo , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Sonia Almarcha , , , - , rowspan="2", Best New Actor , , Óscar de la Fuente , , , - , Tarik Rmili , , , - , Best New Actress , , Almudena Amor , , , - ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Pau Esteve Birba , , , - , Best Editing , , Vanessa L. Marimbert , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Cesar Macarrón , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Luis Gutiérrez , , , - , Best Sound , , Iván Marín, Pelayo Gutiérrez, Valeria Arcieri , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Raúl Romanillos, Míriam Piquer , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Fernando García , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Almudena Fonseca, Manolo García , , , - , Best Original Score , , Zeltia Montes , , , - , rowspan = "8" , 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards , , Best Film Actor in a Leading Role , , Javier Bardem , , , , rowspan = "8" , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role , , Óscar de la Fuente , , , - , Manolo Solo , , , - , Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role , , Sonia Almarcha , , , - , Best Film Actor in a Minor Role , , Fernando Albizu , , , - , Best Film Actress in a Minor Role , , Mara Guil , , , - , Best New Actor , , Tarik Rmili , , , - , Best New Actress , , Almudena Amor , , , - , 26th Satellite Awards , , colspan = "2" ,

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, , , , , - , Spanish Screenwriters' Union Awards , , Best Screenplay in a Comedy Feature Film , , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , , , - , rowspan = "2" , 72nd

Fotogramas de Plata Fotogramas de Plata are a series of Spanish annual film, theatre and television awards awarded by ''Fotogramas'' film magazine since 1951. On 5 February 1951, ''Fotogramas'' magazine awarded their first Placa de San Juan Bosco award to actor Jes� ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Spanish Film (according to readers) , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Film Actor , , Javier Bardem , , , - , 66th

Sant Jordi Awards The Sant Jordi Awards ( ca, Premis Sant Jordi, links=no; es, Premios Sant Jordi, links=no) are film prizes awarded annually by the Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language ...

, , Best Spanish Actor , , Javier Bardem , , , , , - , rowspan = "11" , 9th Platino Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Ibero-American Film , , , , rowspan = "11" , , - ,

, , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Fernando León de Aranoa , , , - , Best Original Score , , Zeltia Montes , , , - , Best Actor , , Javier Bardem , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Almudena Amor , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Manolo Solo , , , - , Best Editing , , Vanessa Marimbert , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Pau Esteve , , , - , Best Sound , , Valeria Arcieri , , , - , Best Art Direction , , César Macarrón , , , - , 64th

, , colspan = "2" , Best Ibero-American Film , , , , , - , 35th European Film Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best European Comedy , , , ,

References

External links

* *
''The Good Boss''
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Boss, The 2021 films 2021 comedy-drama films Spanish black comedy films Spanish comedy-drama films Films set in factories Films set in Spain Films shot in the Community of Madrid Films directed by Fernando León de Aranoa Workplace comedy films 2020s Spanish-language films Films distributed by Disney 2020s Spanish films Best Film Goya Award winners