Franck not only has good management skills but he helps the company by coming up with a plan to implement a 35-hour work week. But what Frank doesn't realize is that the boss is using his ideas to get good leverage against the union - which opposes the plan - and to justify layoffs.

Human Resources takes a dramatic turn when Franck learns that, with his crafty factory-downsizing plan, his father may be in line to lose his job. Now he is faced with a moral dilemma: should he stick with management or should he help his father and the workers – which means supporting the union and certainly losing his new internship?

Adding to the difficulty of the decision is that Franck's father -- a stubbornly quiet man who has sacrificed his life for the success of his son -- cares more about his son working for management than he does about losing a job that he's had all his life. Adding another wrinkle to the drama is that the father is unwilling to join the union and fight for himself.

The film moves along at a rather undramatic pace but with very well defined characters and conflicts.One of the ways director/writer Cantet keeps the drama powerfully convincing is because he doesn't manipulate the high drama with music (the movie has no score) or with bogus melodrama. Also, unlike many leftist filmmakers like Ken Loach or John Sayles, Cantet doesn't draw distinct lines making the workers saintly liberals and the management demonic conservatives. He is more interested in the human drama that develops between the father and the son. Add to this the acting and the script are excellent. By the end the film becomes a very emotionally effective working-class drama.

Video:
The DVD box says it is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 but it looks closer to 1.66:1. The image is good. The film was not made to look glossy and it doesn't. But the contrasts are good and the overall look leans more toward dark and somewhat grainy. One problem is that the subtitles are white and cannot be removed.

Audio:
The film is presented in stereo and sounds fine. The film is dialogue driven. There is almost no music except one scene with a car stereo.

Extras:
There is only an original French trailer and a director filmography.

Overall:
Human Resources is a powerful human drama about a dilemna of one working class family who deal with the irony of raising an intellegent son who - due to circumstances - is suddenly pitted against his father. It is very well written and acted and at the center of the film is a classic but complex struggle. The DVD has no features but the film is highly recommended.