I, Daniel Blake (Independent Film)

You will now study an independent film which will allow you to offer comparisons with your mainstream film. Try to involve your parents. Watch films with them and see if they know any of Ken Loach's films.

Explore the links and take notes for your case study.

Your first task is to immerse yourself in the wonderful world of the director, Ken Loach.  Hopefully this will be one of the finds of the course and you will come to enjoy his films and explore his many and varied works. He is widely revered as the best British director working at the present time.  He is particularly well loved by certain audiences, which we will identify in detail.

Where do we start ! Well here is a list of some of his films that I would recommend. They have all had a profound effect on me and stay in my memory;

• Kes
• Land and Freedom
• Carla's Song
• Sweet Sixteen
• The Wind that Shakes the Barley

The novella, 'A Kestrel for a Knave' was written by Barry Hines and has been on the GCSE English Literature syllabus for as long as I can remember. This is because teachers can use the film alongside the book. The film is now 50 years old and has a place in the hearts of the British public. For the first time many working class people saw the place where they went to school shown on film.  The experience of Billy Casper was authentic and represented life in a Northern pit town.  The scene that most people remember is of the PE teacher. I remember PE teachers when they picked you up by the sideburns and threw basketballs at you. Your parents and grandparents will all have stories of idiosyncratic teachers like this one played by Brian Glover. There was plenty of rough justice in those days meted out by harsh but fair teachers who had a real passion for their subject and enjoyed their job.

Another scene shows aspects of school life that have gone. Look at the performances of the schoolkids. Perhaps they haven't changed that much !

Could you get that authenticity or realism today?  Andrea Arnold is a British director who we could compare to Ken Loach.  Arnold found that the only way to find this level of realism for her film 'Fish Tank' was to use an unknown actor who she saw arguing at a train station.  This allowed for a performance undiluted by acting classes which could create a level of artifice.

Here is the opening scene. It is not a Ken Loach film, rather less subtle and a bit more edgy, but I imagine you can see the influence on this generation of directors. The DVD is in the library.

Loach was born in Nuneaton about 10 miles form here as the crow flies.  His breakthrough came on 'Play for Today' on the BBC where he made films representing working class life. This was a new direction for BBC audiences and ground breaking. It fitted with a movement in literature by a group of authors classed as 'the angry young men' and the new film genre was often referred to as, 'kitchen sink drama'. It was gritty and realistic often set in urban areas showing the reality of life in post war Britain. Themes often shone a light into areas that had not been filmed before such as pregnancy outisde marriage in 'Up the Junction'

'Cathy Come Home' deals with homelessness and had a profound effect on audiences as it raised the profile of this issue and its effect on society.  Through film Loach was able to touch a nerve with the British public and the political nature of his work has been evident throughout his career.

He saw film as a powerful medium to expose injustice and to highlight abuse of power and inequity. He has influenced creative people to us their imagination to create art that has something to say and to enlighten the public.  His films are about truth and challenging those who abuse their hegemonic power.    They are as relevant today as they were then and this is why his filmography endures.

His first film is 1967 is Poor Cow is a bit more experimental is about working class London and great if you are interested in the swinging Sixties. 
Loach tries to 'keep it real' and show life as it really was. This credo has been emulated by many British directors since. Most of whom will credit Loach as being a key inspiration.  For example, British female directors like Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold work in this realist tradition. Authenticity comes from representing reality.   We could look at some short films and investigate the influence of Loach.  For example, Andrea Arnold's short film 'WASP'.

My favourite film in this style is not by Loach but you can see the similarities. 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning' stars Albert Finney in a gritty representation of working class life in Nottingham.

 Not a lot happens but the character is convincing and the mise-en-scene reveals a time and a place in post war British society that was going undocumented and was under represented in mainstream media. Audiences were more likely to see Westserns and Hollywood glamour than people like themselves depicted on the silver screen.

This was adapted from a novel by one of the 'angry young men' Allan Sillitoe. Other notable films include   'This Sporting Life' starring Richard Harris and the more famous 'Look Back in Anger' starring Richard Burton.    Shelagh Delaney was another writer of plays which were adapted into films such as , 'A Taste of Honey.'  These landmark British films greatly influenced television and popular culture.  After these 'realist' films creative people demonstrated a desire to show a true representation of British life.  Up to this point the BBC had catered for a middle class audience predominantly. Accents were all similar in plummy tones, almost received pronunciation rather than standard English.  These prejudices and stereotypes continued well into the late century as the BBC felt they had certain standards to uphold as part of its remit. Anything edgy or contentious was avoided. Popular music was avoided until Radio 1 was launched in response to pirate radio stations like Radio Caroline broadcasting from the English channel. This story is told in the Working Title film that we look at, 'The Boat that Rocked.'  The BBC is always been behind the curve in response to societal changes as it is an institution and change has to be incremental. This leads to criticism that it does not represent the changing diversity of the UK.  For example it did not have a soap opera until Eastenders in 1984. Populist soap opera aimed at the working classes such as Coronation Street was left to the commercial broadcasters like ITV who are reliant on advertising.   This was because it saw the genre as low brow, although The Archers was somehow OK because it was on Radio 4 and accessed by the middles classes.  

Back to Ken Loach films... Read this article to gain an overview of his filmography.
Click this to take you to an article which ranks his films.

He doesn't always get it right and I don't think the set text is one of his best films. I think it is a bit overwrought and some of the acting is ropy.  However, if you watch one and don't like it, then I encourage you to persevere as there is humour and love and passion in his films and they come form the heart.  This is film-making a world away from most mainstream Hollywood product that will move you and make you laugh and cry. It is immersive as you believe in the characters and the narrative. In my opinion it provides a totally different experience due to its independent nature. The creative freedom enjoyed by the production team including the writer and the director allows film to feel authentic.

Here is my top five;

• Raining Stones 1993
• Sweet Sixteen 2002
• Kes 1969
• Land and Freedom 1995
• The Wind that Shakes the Barley 2006

Mark Kermode's choices...