Archive of films Gronholm Method / El método

Spain / Argentina / Italy
2005, 117 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2006

Just how far is a person prepared to go in order to become “the chosen one”? Seven candidates audition for a job in a high managerial position. The selection process involves the application of the so-called Gronholm method of elimination, which German army officers had to go through after the 1st World War. 5 Goya nominations in 2006.

Synopsis

Madrid. Thousands of people are demonstrating at a protest rally against the International Monetary Fund. Amidst this tense atmosphere, interviews are being held in the skyscraper of a supranational financial corporation for a high managerial position. Seven candidates are going through the selection process which involves the application of the so-called Gronholm method of elimination, based on psychological tests, which German army officers had to go through after the 1st World War. Now the method has been adopted by big business. After conquering a senseless bureaucratic labyrinth, the candidates must then undergo a test whose principle is founded on a cunning drama of mutual suspicion, character-bashing, the forming of alliances, humiliating manipulation, and buck-passing, with the comforting reassurance that “no-one is forcing you to do this”. Some of the candidates would rather be outside in the street with the demonstrators, but haven’t the nerve to admit it.

About the director

Marcelo Pineyro (b. 1953, Buenos Aires) studied film at Bellas Artes in La Plata. In 1980, together with Luis Puenzo, he turned Cinemanía into a leading production company which produced the 1984 Oscar-winner The Official Story (La historia oficial). His directorial debut Wild Tango (Tango feroz, 1993) provoked debate about the condition of society and, apart from a series of awards, it broke box-office records. The following film Wild Horses (Caballos salvajes, 1995), with its million viewers, had the second-highest audience figures. It also won the Golden Columbus at the Iberian-American Film Festival in Huelva. For Ashes from Paradise (Cenizas del paraíso, 1997) he won the Goya award. The Los Angeles Times included the film Burnt Money (Plata quemada, 2000) among the top ten films of 2001. This was followed by Stories Live from Argentina (Historias de Argentina en vivo, 2001), Kamchatka (2002), selected for an Oscar nomination, and The Gronholm Method (2005).

Contacts

Latido Films
C/ San Bernardo, 20, 2º8, 28015, Madrid
Spain
Tel: +34 915 488 877
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.latidofilms.com

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Marcelo Piñeyro
Screenplay:	Marcelo Pineyro, Mateo Gil
Dir. of Photography:	Alfredo Mayo
Music:	Frederic Begin
Editor:	Ivan Aledo
Producer:	Francisco Ramos, Gerardo Herrero
Production:	Alquimia & Tornasol
Cast:	Eduardo Noriega, Najwa Nimri, Ernesto Alterio, Pablo Echarri, Eduard Fernández
Contact:	Latido Films

www:	www.tornasolfilms.com