Mohamed is a Moroccan young immigrant looking for a job in Spain. He becomes the assistant of Valero, a plumber, but soon tensions develop between the calm and silent Mohamed and the hot-tempered Valero, who dislikes foreigners. Mohamed assures himself that he can have a decent job after working for a week as an apprentice, but a week is never a short time. The Odd-Job Men depicts with unflinching realism the diverse lifestyles of Barcelona's widely divided social classes. The director blends realism with wit, dealing adeptly with social issues such as immigrants, job insecurity, and class division. The film sympathetically presents under-employed and marginalized people without making them the objects of pity or laughter. (Mann KIM)