Knives out: Penelope Cruz gets down to business in Volver.
Perhaps time spent slumped in front of a DVD might lead to a promotion after all. In a new book out about getting ahead in business, four Italian management consultants have come up with a failsafe way to succeed: watch more movies.
Francesco Bogliari, a lecturer in management and economics in Rome and editor of the handbook Cinema for Managers believes that "All good films teach us lessons about human behaviour". A total of 50 films have been chosen for what they can teach rising executives about "management techniques such as problem solving and teamwork, as well as issues such as globalisation and diversity".
One of the chosen films is Pedro Almodovar's Volver, in which Penelope Cruz plays a character who uses her feminine skills to acquire and successfully run a restaurant. (I assume that we are to ignore the fact that her dead husband is on ice in the kitchen. Although seeing as this seems to fuel her determination to succeed, maybe a dead spouse in the freezer is an asset to business.)
According to Professor Bogliari, Westerns starring John Wayne can be seen as an inspiration for "leadership and mission" while Stanley Kubrick's Lolita contains "lessons about seduction and betrayal" which might be useful for investing on the stock market. The authors also recommend Murder on the Orient Express directed by Sidney Lumet, as a "perfect example of teamwork". Presumably we're supposed to ignore the illegality of most of these endeavours while picking up tips for business.
So, assuming that the Italian consultants are indeed correct and lessons in success can be gained from the big screen, which do you deem to be the most vocationally inspiring?
