In conversation with The Human Resources Manager director Eran Riklis
Posted by Sarah Gopaul on September 19, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The Human Resources Manager is essentially a road movie, but the characters are mismatched and very unconventional for the genre. Director Eran Riklis agreed, summing it up with, “It’s an asymmetrical road movie.” He notes that there must be two aspects to it: It must be a good physical trip, but an equally good emotional trip.
The Human Resources Manager of Jerusalem’s largest bakery is in trouble. He’s separated from his wife, distanced from his daughter and stuck in a job he hates. When one of his employees, a foreign worker, is killed in a suicide bombing and the bakery is accused of inhumanity and indifference, the HR Manager is sent on a mission to make things right. He embarks on a complex journey, beginning in Jerusalem and continuing to a frozen post-Soviet country. The Manager finds himself leading an awkward convoy to the dead woman’s village including her rebellious son, a pesky journalist, a quirky consul, an old veteran driver and a coffin. Far from home, on a mission to honour a woman he didn’t even know but has somehow grown to admire, the HR Manager rediscovers his own humanity and his ability to truly care for human resources.
The project was proposed to Riklis, so he read the book and agreed to direct. “There was something about the basic journey with death to discover life … and on a more a personal level, the never-ending quest to find yourself,” says Riklis. He was also attracted to the elements surrounding Jerusalem and displaced people. In addition, he felt he needed a break after his last film, Lemon Tree, which was very politically charged.
No one in the film has a name but the dead woman, Yulia; instead, they are identified by titles: the Human Resources Manager, the Weasel, the Boy, the Driver, etc. This idea came from the source book, but Riklis decided to keep the convention because he felt it made the story more relatable. Additionally, “everybody is alive here but maybe dead inside, and the only dead person is actually alive. It’s out of respect in a way to her, both because she’s dead and the catalyst of the whole thing,” says Riklis. “The rest have to earn their names.”
The film has three spoken languages: Hebrew, Romanian and English. However, Riklis is not at all intimidated by the challenge as several of his previous films have included several languages as well. “I’ve become somewhat of an expert on this,” says Riklis. He continues that like music, when you become sensitive to a language, you can feel if it sounds right. Therefore, even though he had a translator on set to ensure the wording was correct, Riklis primarily judged performances by their impression.
Riklis sees the open ending of the film as part of the story’s charm. The book is more conclusive, but Riklis decided to allow the audience to decide if the HR Manger’s future is going to improve or not. “There is an ending, but it’s open to new things,” says Riklis. Nonetheless, should there be a desire to produce a sequel that picks up where this film left off, Riklis does not think he’d be involved. “Let someone else do it,”
Riklis manages to tell a story that is just quirky enough, while remaining relatable. “It’s offbeat and kind of mainstream in a way,” says Riklis. There are various moments of levity, but the seriousness of the ragtag group’s task often breaks through the surface. Thus, The Human Resources Manager is an inherently conventional, but unusual road trip movie.
Click below to listen to TFS’ interview with director Eran Riklis:
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