Smoking Room

Starring:Smoking Room
Studio: Venevision
Product Type: DVD

Description

Cleverness and ingenuity best describe Smoking Room, which unsurprisingly was Nominated for a 2003 Goya Award for Best Original Screenplay. An American company located in Spain finds itself obligated to regulate one of its internal laws that prohibits smoking within the office area. From now on, whoever wants to smoke during working hours, can do so…outside. Ramirez, one of the employees from this small company, decides to gather a couple of signatures against what he considers an unjust decision. The hilarity ensues after one coworker after another begins to distance themselves from the mission leaving Ramirez standing alone as an army of one. Excuses to avoid becoming involved in the petition, in reality are cover-ups for the secret reasons they cannot agree to conspire against the new office policy. From this point forward, everyone has something to hide.

Customer Reviews:

Realist with great acting.......2005-12-27

I saw this film in 2002 in Madrid and I haven't forgotten about it. Its gritty, film noir feel is reminiscent of "High Noon" while the acting and cinematography has a look and feel all its own. The pressure-cooker office atmosphere is something that any working person can relate to.

Great Film.......2005-11-09

This is a very dark and atmospheric film about culture clashes and the often hidden nature of business politics. The protagonist decides to launch a petition against his company to reverse a decision against smoking in the workplace, after it has been taken over by an American company. There is an anti-american culture undertone which probably reflects concerns that the rest of the world has towards American foreign policy. This film could be seen as an allegory about how America enforces its will on other nations but also how the workplace can become dehumanising and how the neglected feelings of the workers can emerge in a variety of disturbing ways. It is made in a very intimate way with close and handheld camera work which lends the film a claustrophobic quality. This film may not be to everyones taste and is hard to classify but should be sought out by anyone who appreciates films that provide an alternative to the standard hollywood production.

Smoking Room.......2005-09-25

Smoking Room has no action. It consists only of close-up shots on individuals talking about how an American Company has crossed the line in trying to get the locals to not smoke in their workspace. It looked as if it were to be a comedy, and there is nothing funny about it. In addtion, many vulgar words are used. I wanted to use it in my Spanish classroom to show native speaking and differences of cultural opinions, but due to the language AND the poor subject matter covered in the film, I wasted my money.

Smoking Room [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

Average customer rating:

Smoking Room [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
Director: Roger Gual , and Julio D. Wallovits
Manufacturer: S.A.V.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN, SYNOPSIS: Heated office politics boil quickly to the surface as a tobacco-loving employee make a desperate plea for a smoking room in this observant comedy from writer/directors Julio Wallovits and Roger Gual. Working his days away in a Spanish branch of a large U.S.-based company, salary-man Ramirez (Eduard Fernandez) is enraged when a no-smoking ordinance goes into effect, leaving him no place to light up while on the clock. Though his bid for nicotine bliss initially divides employees' loyalties based solely on the subject at hand, petty grievances soon erupt into all-out war concerning twisted office politics. With employees going back on their initial support for the smoking room and paranoia soon giving way to shifting loyalties, it seems that everyone has their own agenda when it comes the how the company is being run.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Scene Access, Interactive Menu, Filmographies,

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