Tag: Ken Loach

Sorry We Missed You, Ciné Lumière II, 11 November 2019

I’m really glad that Janie and I went to see this excellent film yesterday, but by gosh it is a depressing watch.

We saw it in Ciné Lumière II – very comfy but small screen -nothing like the big art deco screen at the Institut français.

Here is a link to its Wikipedia entry, which itself links out to IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes etc.

The piece is said to be about the gig economy, but in truth it is about that shady part of the economy which is purportedly “gig”, but is in truth sham self-employment contracts that condemn the individuals concerned to a form of bonded labour, as the contracts are ludicrously one-sided and are designed to deny the individuals workers rights.

The story of this family plays out in rather typical Ken Loach film fashion. The viewer has a sense of foreboding from the outset. It is a Ken Loach movie after all.

The father of the family, Ricky, buys a van and hopes for a more independent existence as a self-employed van driver. The mother, Abby, is also technically self-employed – i.e. an agency care worker on a zero hours contract.

Things do not go well for them.

There are many good reviews on-line but the Variety one – click here – is comprehensive and interesting.

Bursting with poignant scenes, the most poignant ones, for me, are:

  • several scenes where Abby, who is full of goodness, wants to look after her charges better but is constantly under time/commercial pressure to move on to the next or work unpaid in her severely limited own time;
  • when Maloney, the ghastly “gangmaster” at the delivery depot, explains why his depot tops the productivity charts and states that the company ought to erect a statue of him to celebrate his management achievements;
  • a late scene in which the daughter, Lisa Jane, breaks down and explains that she just wants the family to go back to the way it was before her dad had the van.

Set in Newcastle, there are some moments of humour in it, but not to the same extent as I Daniel Blake, the previous Ken Loach, which Janie and I also rated very highly indeed.

Movies like this tell us a lot about our society; those pockets of society that people like me, Janie and most Ogblog readers are, mercifully, spared.

Highly recommended – go see it.

I, Daniel Blake, Gate Picturehouse, 23 October 2016

Superb movie, this.  I, Daniel Blake – click here for IMDb entry.

Janie and I had both been tracking this one for a few weeks. Our original plan was to see it at the Curzon, but the nifty timing of 15:20 at The Gate, together with the chance to pop in to the flat afterwards to pick up one or two things, won it for the Gate Picturehouse.

What we didn’t know when we bought the tickets online was that the heating in the Gate had broken down, making the experience doubly bleak.

I mean, you don’t go to a Ken Loach film for heartwarming, do you? You go for bleak. Still, you don’t actually need to feel physically cold and experience personal suffering to empathise with victims of our country’s heartless benefits system, in chilly Newcastle.

So, Janie and I suffered for our art, but it was worth it.

The movie especially highlights how inflexible our state bureaucratic systems are, so if you fall foul of them or make a mistake or have a mistake made about you when you are in an especially vulnerable position, matters can spiral out of control and out of hand so easily.

It also highlights how very dispossessed are those people who do not have ready access to on-line facilities and/or do not have the skills to use information systems.

Ken Loach has previous at highlighting big social issues and making things happen about them; Cathy Come Home being perhaps the most memorable example. I hope there is a reaction and some social change on the back of I, Daniel Blake.

Not as relentlessly grim as some Ken Loach films, as there were glimpses of humanity throughout the film. The kindly job centre employee being reprimanded by her boss for trying to help Daniel…”I’ve told you before, it might set a precedent…” was especially chilling. A scene at a food bank was heartbreaking.

I don’t often implore people to see stuff, but this really is one of those films that ought to be seen by as many people as possible. The film is also an excellent piece of drama. Go see it.