Yes, even a corporate bureaucrat can have a heart. At least that’s the message in the Israeli black comedy “The Human Resources Manager.”
The gentleman in question heads the personnel department of a large Jerusalem bakery, which is embarrassed when a newspaper reports that it had not done enough to identify one of its employees, a Romanian woman named Yulia, after she died in a suicide bombing.
His boss orders him to do damage control, which includes accompanying the body to Yulia’s snowy hometown in Romania.
The unfortunate woman is not the only problem facing the manager (well- played by Mark Ivanir). He’s separated from his wife, and their young daughter complains, rightly so, that her dad doesn’t share quality time with her.
In the course of his road trip — taken with the Israeli consul and her husband, as well as a pesky reporter looking for a scoop — the manager meets Yulia’s rebellious teenage son (Noah Silver); her grieving mother, who thinks her daughter should be buried in Israel; and a bureaucratic morgue worker who insists the Israeli identify Yulia’s body, even though he’d never met the deceased.
More important, the manager begins to see the folly of his workaholic life, much as Peter Riegert’s character did in Bill Forsythe’s “Local Hero” (1983).
“The Human Resources Manager” is directed by Eran Riklis, whose “Lemon Tree” and “The Syrian Bride” received positive reviews when they played in New York.
In an odd touch, only Yulia is identified by name; the others are called simply the Weasel, the Boy, etc.
I’m not sure this device adds much to the film, which otherwise is an enjoyable mix of tragedy and comedy.