previously published on Cineuropa
Labour rights do not serve everybody equally, given that there are domestic and migrant workers on permanent or seasonal contracts. In fact, being a migrant worker on a seasonal contract might be the worst position one could find oneself in. At least that is the point of Pier-Philippe Chevigny’s debut feature, Temporaries, which, after its world premiere at Tribeca last month, has now enjoyed its European one in Karlovy Vary’s Special Screenings section.
Probably the biggest strength of the filmmaker’s own script is that it does not adopt the perspective of either the workers or the employers, but rather tells the story from the point of view of translator Ariane (Ariane Castellanos, most active on French-language TV series in Canada), a woman of mixed Canadian-Guatemalan heritage who has her own existential problems, such as the debt she has been left wallowing in by her ex-partner, with her apartment as collateral. Ideally, her job at the corn-processing factory in the Richelieu Valley in Quebec would serve as a liaison between the Guatemalan and Mexican migrant workers on one side, and the factory management on the other, in order for agreements to be reached. However, the workers want her to take on the role of being their representative, while the management, personified by Stéphane (Marc-André Grondin, seen in a number of Quebecois films, such as C.R.A.Z.Y. and You’re Sleeping, Nicole, as well as the English-language Canadian hockey-themed Goon), would like her simply to give orders to the team.
Soon enough, she finds herself between a rock and a hard place, both existentially and ethically, as she realises she has become the third party in a class conflict. However, the workers cannot take a joint stand against the bosses owing to their poor contracts, so they turn against one another, while the managers actually fight to save the plant, after the French owners have set unrealistic productivity goals, by opting to sacrifice the most vulnerable and the most expendable. This turn of events will prove to be especially harsh for one of the workers, Manuel (Nelson Coronado), with whom Ariane feels a special connection.
It's safe to say that Temporaries can easily be filed under the label of social-realist cinema, and as such, it takes some cues from sub-genre masters such as Ken Loach and the Dardenne brothers. As is often the case with Loach, Chevigny is more interested in delivering the message than in making a stylistically exciting piece of cinema, so he opts for a safe homage to the Dardennes’ style with cinematographer Gabriel Brault Tardiff’s camera almost constantly levitating around lead actress Ariane Castellanos, who shows enough grit, stamina and “everywoman” quality to play the character in a compelling manner. Grondin is convincing as a menacing presence, but also as a boss who has not forgotten that he was also once a worker, while Coronado does a good job in a role that could propel his professional acting career forwards to a certain degree.
Despite some fitting additional choices, such as the boxy 4:3 aspect ratio that amplifies the sense of anxiety owing to a lack of options, and the darker-than-usual colour scheme, Temporaries fares better as a sincere cry for justice and as a statement than it does as a potentially amazing piece of cinema. But it was always more about the topic than the style.
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