Next showing: Saturday 28 October 4:00pm at Piccadilly
Tickets: here
Program: here

I have an issue when people tell me how busy they are. We’re all busy! You’re not special, I’m sorry! This is where After Work begins, grappling with the impact of work on our lives. Director Erik Gandini takes the viewer on a journey around the world exploring a number of individuals’ experiences with work.

Gandini does quite a good job taking quite a varied look at work culture in different countries, ranging from the more intense work cultures of the US and South Korea to the more relaxed experiences of Kuwaiti people (who have a legal right to work, even if the job is almost non-existent) and a number of eccentric heirs in Italy. The interviews with these characters, along with philosophers (including a Noam Chomsky jump scare) and consultants, paint a broad picture of the nature of work. We dedicate so much of our lives to the damn thing that it shapes our entire perception of ourselves. This is not necessarily a revolutionary idea, no, but Gandini takes viewers on an interesting exploration of this concept all the same. It’s the diversity of experiences that make this a unique viewing experience.

However, After Work is let down by its narrative. It feels a little lost at times as it attempts to address more ideas than it can actually resolve. This is most felt at the end, which comes abruptly. Despite this, the production is very well done. The interviews bring out the best in the subjects, subsequently drawing out many laughs by the audience. The production of several songs created by interview quotes (“I am so busy! I’m soo busy. I’ve got so many irons on the fire! I’ve got so much to do, I’m busy!”) is in particular very effective at landing the film’s central thesis: we are just too busy.

At the end, Gandini asks each of the interview subjects a single question: what would you do if you didn’t need to work? This seems to stump them all, they stare blankly into the lens. A convenient ending? Perhaps. I’ve got plenty of ideas. If anyone reading this wants to pay me to live the life of an Italian heiress, picking roses and travelling to Crete on a whim, hit me up.

3.5 stars