the siren ?
a siren goes off near the one hour mark of the movie, when jose wakes up. it's as if there is a nuclear war starting, but there is no action anywhere. what does it signify ?
shareLots of industrial towns have/formerly had sirens or steam whistles as signals to mark the start and end of the work day. I suppose they probably come from the days before watches and personal alarm clocks were common.
The significance here is that the sirens still blow, but the docks are closed, and the men have no work to go to, the world still plods on without them.