Mondays in the Sun (2003) Rank 5 Reviews

Blunt Review (Emily Blunt)

Mondays in the Sun is a delightfully understated snapshot of life. Director/writer Fernando León de Aranda has captured a bit of the melancholy of displacement... ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Blunt Review (Emily Blunt)

Dallas Morning News (Jane Sumner)

Alive with humanity and wit. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Dallas Morning News (Jane Sumner)

Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

A triumph of quiet realism, a piece of sophisticated, subtle filmmaking that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)

There's a dignity to Mondays in the Sun that manages to keep the film buoyant, helping to keep all the despair at bay. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)

Premiere (Peter Debruge)

Bardem plays the part with all the pent-up animal rage of a young Robert De Niro. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Premiere (Peter Debruge)

One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Engaged filmmaking that makes a political point, and the observant script and incisive direction give it considerable power. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Full of sympathy for the worker's plight. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

E! Online (--)

You're not going to walk out of this one with a smile on your face, but you're going to be happy that you saw it. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at E! Online (--)

Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)

The performances are relaxed. The open-ended, vignette-like structure of the filmmaking sometimes imitates the movement of weary, life-worn men nursing liquor. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)

ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)

Moving, often hilarious examination of masculine frustration with a sharply observed script and impressive performances from its cast. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)

NPR's Morning Edition (Kenneth Turan)

A piece of sophisticated, subtle filmmaking that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at NPR's Morning Edition (Kenneth Turan)

Empire Magazine (--)

...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Empire Magazine (--)

Washington Post (Desson Thomson)

To the patient viewer, the rewards are many, especially Bardem's performance. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Washington Post (Desson Thomson)

Variety (Jonathan Holland)

A tough-but-tender movie driven by perfectly modulated performances, an accomplished script and naturalistic dialogue, all at the service of an oft-told message about overcoming circumstances. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Variety (Jonathan Holland)

Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)

Bardem injects a shaggy, compassionate humor throughout, aided by a wry and moving ensemble cast and co-writer/director Fernando León de Aranda's eye for the offbeat. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)

Chicago Tribune (Allison Benedikt)

Bardem gives what might have been too slow and plodding a movie its heart and its humor. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Chicago Tribune (Allison Benedikt)

St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))

What keeps us involved in this perceptive film is the beautiful acting of its cast ... and the way the movie balances grim reality with bits of fancy that feel oddly perfect. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))

Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

Seems born not of contrivance but genuine, hurtful truth ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

Premiere Magazine (Peter Debruge)

Javier Bardem plays the part with all the pent-up animal rage of a young Robert De Niro ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Premiere Magazine (Peter Debruge)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

Will look and feel all too familiar to victims of the jobless recovery, or at least those who can afford to see the movie. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

Slant Magazine (Nick Schager)

Aranoa�s storytelling is full of fire and nuance, and his striking, heartbreaking, mutedly hopeful film exhibits the spirit of its Italian neo-realist predecessors. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Slant Magazine (Nick Schager)

San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)

A true, fine and involvingly human piece of work. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)

Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)

[De Aranoa is] a gentle, realist social worker, and the well-acted movie he's made to showcase his humanism is incredibly moving. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)

Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)

Instead of pacing, it offers terrific performances and a wonderful sense of small-time tragedy ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)

Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)

The best thing that can be said about this funny, poignant and compassionate film is that watching it is not work. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

A strongly constructed and effective drama. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)

The story's rambling, meandering style is just right for the melancholy subject being explored, and all the acting is excellent. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)

Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)

Mondays in the Sun, a poignant character study set in the industrial boneyard of Vigo on Iberia's north coast, is in Spanish and the international language of unemployment. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)

Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)

Loach makes a working metaphor of the old ant-and-grasshopper story, but the film's images are what echo the loudest. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)

USA Today (Claudia Puig)

A quintessentially European, methodically paced and intelligent slice of life. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)

Baltimore Sun (--)

...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Baltimore Sun (--)

New York Post (Megan Lehmann)

There's also enough laconic humor, warming camaraderie and hopeful stabs at dignity to keep the story from assuming the glum gunmetal gray of its setting on the coast of northwestern Spain. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at New York Post (Megan Lehmann)

Chicago Tribune (Allison Benedikt)

The tired and washed-out Spanish town is a fitting backdrop for these men - a place where life moves on around them at an uninspiring pace. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Chicago Tribune (Allison Benedikt)

Boston Herald (James Verniere)

...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Boston Herald (James Verniere)

Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)

It's a long and relatively underdramatized film, but it's powerfully true. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)

The New York Times (A.O. Scott)

This slow, episodic film is held together by the galvanic presence of Javier Bardem. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at The New York Times (A.O. Scott)

TV Guide (Ken Fox)

Imagine "The Full Monty" without any of the feel-good uplift, and you'd be pretty close to capturing what this bitter -- and often bitterly funny -- film from Spain is all about. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at TV Guide (Ken Fox)

Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)

...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)

EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

It has nice little touches, and some solid performances, but in the end nothing is accomplished. It is as though the film itself is unemployed. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

The lack of sentimentality and rhetoric is refreshing. It's a grown-up movie about some harsh facts of life. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Paula Nechak)

Tinged with sadness, and despite overstaying its welcome a wee bit, remains an anthem of insurrection, melding its political and humanistic truths into an almost dreamily subversive film tinged with humor and some small hope. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Paula Nechak)

New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)

Though buoyed by excellent, unflinching performances, this melancholy drama reflects the dismally monotonous lives of its subjects just a little too well. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

It is intensely involving at the outset, but it faces an insoluble problem: The story, like the characters, has no place to go. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

AboutFilm.com (Carlo Cavagna)

As boring as a trip across Kansas on a Greyhound bus. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at AboutFilm.com (Carlo Cavagna)

ToxicUniverse.com (John A. Nesbit)

If nothing else, watch it for Javier Bardem, who is rapidly establishing himself as among the world's very best at his craft ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (John A. Nesbit)

Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)

A timely little slice of desolation. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)

New York Times (A.O. Scott)

This slow, episodic film is held together by the galvanic presence of Javier Bardem. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at New York Times (A.O. Scott)

Orlando Sentinel (Jay Boyar)

In these days of cutbacks and belt-tightening, its story has a strong resonance. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Orlando Sentinel (Jay Boyar)

filmcritic.com (Jules Brenner)

The popcorn out in the lobby would seem a more compelling attraction ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at filmcritic.com (Jules Brenner)

Dallas Observer (Luke Y. Thompson)

Neorealism it ain't, but if you have a sufficiently long attention span, there are moments of laugh-out-loud absurdity that are worth the price of admission. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Dallas Observer (Luke Y. Thompson)

Film Threat (Rory L. Aronsky)

Bardem proves once again, as he has in movies� past that he is one of the most talented actors that can be called upon time and time again in the Spanish film world... ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Film Threat (Rory L. Aronsky)

Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)

Another staggeringly strong performance by Javier Bardem. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)

TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)

It's a bit of a challenge to watch, but Javier Bardem fans will want to check it out. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)

Film Threat (Rory L. Aronsky)

Not an incredible disappointment, but it could have used some more work in making us remain curious about these characters and what their next course of action would be. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Film Threat (Rory L. Aronsky)

Boxoffice Magazine (Annlee Ellingson)

Throughout, Bardem ... is a potent presence. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Annlee Ellingson)

TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)

Often bitterly funny. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)

Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)

Like Fellini's "I vitelloni," this Spanish-French-Italian coproduction is a bittersweet epic about frustration and relative inertia, though with a somewhat older and wiser group of layabouts. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)

Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

Repetitious, uneventful and, in the end, dull. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)

Winner of five Goya Awards (Best Film, Director and three acting awards), Mondays in the Sun repeats its point, that unemployment depletes energy and identity, but in subtle, ever engaging ways. The film offers no overt trajectory, and no triumph over ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)

The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)

Fortunately, no one seems to have clued Bardem in on the game plan, and the fierceness and complexity he brings to his role nearly saves Mondays In The Sun. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)

Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)

...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)

New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)

Though buoyed by excellent, unflinching performances, this melancholy drama reflects the dismally monotonous lives of its subjects just a little too well. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)

Los Angeles Daily News (Bob Strauss)

Mondays in the Sun is heartfelt and true and as tedious as a movie about chronic unemployment can be. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Bob Strauss)

Seattle Times (John Hartl)

Thoughtful and well-acted, but a little flat in the story department. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Seattle Times (John Hartl)

SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)

Thick with powerful, understated, deeply empathetic performances -- and it needs them. It's hard to feel sorry for a bunch of welfare cases who sit around drinking and barely even trying to find new jobs. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

It is intensely involving at the outset, but it faces an insoluble problem: The story, like the characters, has no place to go. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Newsday (Jan Stuart)

A cannily observant but withholding film in which nothing happens, over and again. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Newsday (Jan Stuart)

Film Freak Central (Walter Chaw)

While there's a certain poetic symmetry to a lethargic film about lethargy, it doesn't make for a terribly edifying viewing experience. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Film Freak Central (Walter Chaw)

Village Voice (Dennis Lim)

It's forgivable, and even appropriate, that Mondays itself suffers from a certain lack of definition -- a drifting, repetitive dead-endedness that, at the inconclusive finale, shows no signs of abating. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at Village Voice (Dennis Lim)

CinemaSpeak.com (Warren Curry)

...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at CinemaSpeak.com (Warren Curry)

LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)

Bardem, given the only fully fleshed-out character to play, is a marvel to behold...If only he had found a more soulful, less didactic movie to be plunked down into. ...read the complete Mondays in the Sun movie review at LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)

San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)