A philosophical experimental film in search of work-life balance, shot by Ruben Östlund’s regular cinematographer, Fredrik Wenzel (‘Triangle Of Sadness’)
In 1958, the philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote in her book “The Human Condition”: “What we are confronted with is the prospect of a society of labourers without labour, that is, without the only activity left to them. Surely, nothing could be worse”. Infused with dark existential humor, this documentary investigation by the Swedish-Italian trickster Erik Gandini is a contemporary version of Arendt's warning about the world of work, its likely future, and the prospects of its complete disappearance. The director travels the world, engages with experts, and studies quotes from Noam Chomsky, Yuval Noah Harari, and Elon Musk to determine what the concept of work represents today, if it means anything at all. As examples for comparison in the film, four countries are taken: Kuwait, where, due to the constitutionally guaranteed right to work, a single position in a company can be held by twenty people, South Korea, which combats overwork with mass computer shutdowns at 6:00 PM; the United States, where people annually relinquish 500 million hours of vacation; and Italy, with its relaxed southern mentality that gave rise to the motto NEET—“Not in Education, Employment, or Training.” Meanwhile, AI is already prepared to take our jobs, and something must be done about it.
Original language: English, Italian, Korean, Arabic Subtitles: Belarusian | English