I, Daniel Blake (2016) - Loach triumphs with compassionate, angry cry for humanity

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

+ 3rd Best Movie of the Year

+ Best English Movie of the Year 

+ Most Deserved Hit of the Year

 

The people that are at the center of Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake

 

I, Daniel Blake is the 26th theatrical fiction feature from English master filmmaker Ken Loach (Kes (1969)), written by Paul Laverty (The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)).

Daniel Blake is an aging widower and carpenter in Newcastle, England, who, following a heart attack, gets barred from going back to work by his doctor. The welfare system absurdly denies him help, while he befriends a young mother of two, newly moved to the city and in troubles of her own.

Daniel Blake begins with funny moments, which there are a few more of later in it, but they become fewer and fewer as the dire situations of Daniel and friend Katie change for the worse. Loach portrays these fates, which anyone with half a brain will know do exist out there, with the tender attention and quiet observation of a true compassionate friend of his fellow man. I, Daniel Blake is social-realism at its best; the captivating story turns truly heartbreaking, SPOILER leading up to the film's ending, which is as angry as a clenched fist in the air from the aging Loach.

The anger is directed at a welfare system that treats its own citizens in need with suspicion and cold sanctions and blame instead of humanity, decency and help. But the problems laid bare in Daniel Blake extends beyond this system. - Through implication it also shows some of the dubious results of globalization and the Internet: An easier time for major companies and exploiters of humans in distress and a dissolution of the national and cultural fabrics that used to keep countrymen close and helping each other. The despairing facts are alleviated by the thing that still makes life - and the film - bearable, namely that people taken individually are the same as always, at root, with the same capacities for kindness, love and charity that they used to have. Some call out I, Daniel Blake for being one-sided and sentimental, but in their cynicism and perhaps provocation that Western societies have seemingly come to this low, they fail to see the nuances in Loach's portrayal and the fact that human stories in real life often are sentimental and bleak. The film really isn't mainly for audiences with one political perspective; it is for compassionate people across the aisle, showing us situations that shouldn't be occurring in the West in our time.

Stand-up comedian Dave Johns (Harry Hill (1998), TV-series) is sensational as the titular character, and Hayley Squires (Blood Cells (2014)) is equally fantastic as Katie, SPOILER whose food bank scene seemed to punch a whole in my stomach. Briana Shann and Dylan McKiernan, debuting as Katie's daughter and son, are both marvelous.

I can't recommend I, Daniel Blake enough. It is a must-see and a film I think will be talked about and watched for years to come.

 

Related posts:

 

Ken Loach: Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Cathy Come Home (1966, TV movie) - Loach introduces national social issue in pungent kitchen sink drama

Watch an official trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 14.6 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say (but already looks like a box office success)

[I, Daniel Blake premiered May 13 (Cannes) and runs 100 minutes. Filming took place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from October 2015 onward. The film is reportedly Loach's biggest hit in his native UK to date, where it has grossed 3.8 mil. $ to date. Its biggest market so far has been France with 6.4 mil. $. The film is set to open in Hong Kong, Israel, Norway and Japan in the coming months. It has sparked debate in  Britain especially, where Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has embraced it and encouraged the country's Conservative PM Theresa May to watch it. The film won the Palm d'Or in Cannes, Loach's second, following The Wind that Shakes the Barley, and it is nominated for 5 BAFTAS and has won 2 British Independent Film Awards out of 7 nominations and 1 European Film Award out of 5 nominations. I, Daniel Blake is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I, Daniel Blake?