# The Good Boss

The Good Boss (Spanish: El buen patrón) is a 2021 Spanish black comedy-drama film directed and written by Fernando León de Aranoa and starring Javier Bardem. A corporate satire, the plot tracks a charismatic and manipulative factory owner (Bardem) meddling in the lives of his employees.
The film world premiered at the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 21 September 2021, ahead of its 15 October 2021 theatrical release in Spain by Tripictures. It received a record-breaking 20 nominations to the 36th Goya Awards, winning six (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Original Screenplay, Score and Editing).

## Plot

Julio Blanco, the charismatic and manipulative owner of a family-run factory of industrial scales in a Spanish provincial town, meddles in the lives of his employees in an attempt to win an award for business excellence.

## Cast

* Javier Bardem as Julio Blanco
* Manolo Solo as Miralles
* Almudena Amor as Liliana
* Óscar de la Fuente as Jose
* Sonia Almarcha as Adela
* Fernando Albizu as Román
* Tarik Rmili as Khaled
* Rafa Castejón as Rubio
* Celso Bugallo as Fortuna
* Francesc Orella as Alejandro
* Martín Páez as Salva
* Yael Belicha as Inés
* Mara Guil as Aurora
* Nao Albet as Albert
* María de Nati as Ángela
* Dalit Streett Tejeda
* Nicolás Ruiz as Jose's son

## Production

The Good Boss was produced by Reposado PC, The Mediapro Studio and Básculas Blanco AIE, with the participation of RTVE, TV3 and Orange. Filming began in Spain in October 2020 and wrapped in December 2020. It was shot in Móstoles and other locations across the Madrid region.

## Release

The film premiered at the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 21 September 2021. Distributed by Tripictures, it was then released theatrically in Spain on 15 October 2021. It became the 4th highest-grossing Spanish film release in the domestic market in 2021 with a revenue of 3,278,021 € and 518,254 viewers in the aforementioned year.
Cohen Media Group acquired US rights to the film. Distributed by Bim, it theatrically released in Italy on 23 December 2021 as Il capo perfetto, whereas, distributed by PRIS Audiovisuais, it opened in Portuguese theatres on 20 January 2022 under the title O Bom Patrão. The film was set for a 28 April 2022 opening in Argentine theatres.
The Good Boss was announced as the opening film of the 39th Miami Film Festival (4 March 2022). A 9 June 2022 release date was set for the film's opening in Chilean theatres, distributed by Star Distribution. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 26 August 2022, to be followed by a wider release on 2 September.

## Reception
### Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an 92% rating based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The critics consensus reads: "Led by Javier Bardem's charismatic performance and writer-director Fernando León de Aranoa's sharp humor, The Good Boss is a workplace satire worthy of promotion." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Guy Lodge of Variety gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Fernando León de Aranoa's corporate satire is too long and languidly paced to pull off its farcical inclinations, but it gets by on its star's magnetism."
Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Slickly entertaining, considering its rather weighty subject matter..."
Javier Zurro of El Español deemed the film to be the best Aranoa film since the 2002 Mondays in the Sun and the best Spanish comedy in (many) years, a genre dominated for some time now by either family comedies or remakes of international titles, generally lacking in original proposals.
Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave the film 90 out of 100 points, deeming it "excellent", praising the "sharp script", the (actors') direction, and the "careful mise-en-scène".
Quim Casas of El Periódico de Catalunya considered the film to be "a good tragicomedy of social criticism that could well be the counterpart to Mondays in the Sun".
Jonathan Holland of Screen Daily considered the film to be "slickly-made and entertaining, but ultimately a little déjà vu". Plotwise, he deemed the film to be "as smooth and efficient as a well-run factory".
Mirito Torreiro of Fotogramas gave The Good Boss 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting an immense, eminent Javier Bardem in one of his most dazzling performances to date ("he is, quite simply, the movie"), also considering that Aranoa offers viewers a dark comedy displaying a grim portrayal of labour relations.
Reviewing for Cinemanía, Santiago Alverú gave the film 5 out of 5 stars, writing that the political commitment from León de Aranoa and Javier Bardem mixed with the expressive talent of both of them have created a highly entertaining vindication, concluding that "except for Amancio Ortega, the whole of Spain should like it".
The AACCE selected the film as the Spanish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards over Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea and Parallel Mothers, and it made the 15-film pre-nomination shortlist in December 2021. Ultimately, it was not nominated. It also chose the film as the Spanish submission for Best Ibero-American Film at the 64th Ariel Awards.

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2021 | 13th Festival CiBRA [es] | Best Original Screenplay | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2021 | 27th Forqué Awards | Best Fiction or Animation Film | Best Fiction or Animation Film | Won |
| 2021 | 27th Forqué Awards | Best Actor (film) | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Comedy Film | Best Comedy Film | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Director | Fernando León de Aranoa | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Screenplay | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Actor (film) | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress (film) | Almudena Amor | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actor (film) | Manolo Solo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actor (film) | Celso Bugallo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Original Score | Zeltia Montes | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Trailer | Maurits Malschaert & Mick Aerts | Nominated |
| 2022 | 1st Carmen Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Manolo Solo | Won |
| 2022 | 1st Carmen Awards | Best New Actress | Mara Guil | Won |
| 2022 | 1st Carmen Awards | Best Cinematography | Pau Esteve | Won |
| 2022 | 1st Carmen Awards | Best Costume Design | Fernando García | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Direction | Fernando León de Aranoa | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Actor | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Supporting Actor | Manolo Solo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Supporting Actor | Celso Bugallo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Supporting Actress | Sonia Almarcha | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best New Actor | Óscar de la Fuente | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best New Actor | Tarik Rmili | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best New Actress | Almudena Amor | Won |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Original Screenplay | Fernando León de Aranoa | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Cinematography | Pau Esteve Birba | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Editing | Vanessa Marimbert | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Score | Zeltia Montes | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Director | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Actor | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Fernando Albizu | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Celso Bugallo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Manolo Solo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Sonia Almarcha | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best New Actor | Óscar de la Fuente | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best New Actor | Tarik Rmili | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best New Actress | Almudena Amor | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Cinematography | Pau Esteve Birba | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Editing | Vanessa L. Marimbert | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Art Direction | Cesar Macarrón | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Production Supervision | Luis Gutiérrez | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Sound | Iván Marín, Pelayo Gutiérrez, Valeria Arcieri | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Special Effects | Raúl Romanillos, Míriam Piquer | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Costume Design | Fernando García | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Almudena Fonseca, Manolo García | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Original Score | Zeltia Montes | Won |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Leading Role | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role | Óscar de la Fuente | Won |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role | Manolo Solo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Sonia Almarcha | Won |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Minor Role | Fernando Albizu | Won |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Minor Role | Mara Guil | Nominated |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best New Actor | Tarik Rmili | Won |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best New Actress | Almudena Amor | Won |
| 2022 | 26th Satellite Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | Spanish Screenwriters' Union Awards | Best Screenplay in a Comedy Feature Film | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2022 | 72nd Fotogramas de Plata | Best Spanish Film (according to readers) | Best Spanish Film (according to readers) | Nominated |
| 2022 | 72nd Fotogramas de Plata | Best Film Actor | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 66th Sant Jordi Awards | Best Spanish Actor | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Ibero-American Film | Best Ibero-American Film | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Director | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Screenplay | Fernando León de Aranoa | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Original Score | Zeltia Montes | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Actor | Javier Bardem | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Almudena Amor | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Manolo Solo | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Editing | Vanessa Marimbert | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Cinematography | Pau Esteve | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Sound | Valeria Arcieri | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Art Direction | César Macarrón | Nominated |
| 2022 | 64th Ariel Awards | Best Ibero-American Film | Best Ibero-American Film | Won |
| 2022 | 35th European Film Awards | Best European Comedy | Best European Comedy | Won |