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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Workers and Jobs remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you're a history nerd who loves the smell of old celluloid and doesn't mind a lack of narrative fluff, yes. If you need a movie to keep you awake with thrills, you’ll hate this. It’s basically a formal, slightly dry report on why people couldn't find work during the Great Depression. It's not fun, but it is honest.
Arthur Elton puts the camera in front of the unemployment offices, and you can practically feel the damp air of 1930s Britain. The way the men stand in those queues is so specific—shoulders hunched, flat caps pulled low. It isn't staged. You can tell they aren't looking at the lens because they have better things to do than satisfy a filmmaker's vision.
The pacing is a bit of a mess, honestly. It jumps from explaining the system to showing the actual misery of the streets without much of a bridge. One minute you're hearing a voiceover about labor statistics, and the next you're staring at a guy’s face who clearly hasn't had a decent meal in a week. It’s jarring.
There’s a strange, clunky quality to the editing that reminds me of School Days, though this is clearly a different beast. It feels less like a movie and more like a document someone found in a dusty archive. Some of the shots linger on empty industrial machinery for far too long, like the editor was trying to fill time but just ended up highlighting the silence.
The whole thing feels a bit like a PSA from a timeline that went wrong. It lacks the polish of The Village Squire, but that’s kind of the point. It’s not meant to be pretty. It’s meant to be a punch in the gut.
If you have twenty minutes and want to feel a bit melancholy, this is the one. It won't change your life, but it might make you look at a job application differently. 🌫️