Posts Tagged ‘Ken Loach’

Stand up, if you hate Man Utd…

Cards-on-the-table time – your reviewer loathes with a passion (some might say with every fibre of his being, at times) a certain football club variously known as Scum, Glory Hunters Central, Manure and the Evil Empire. Oh, and they also go by the name of Manchester United, for the truly (and mercifully) unenlightened.

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It’s the world, stupid

The release of any low-budget film to a limited viewership, especially if it’s based on a polarizing and emotive subject, is bound to attract debate and certain degree of conflict. The Age of Stupid (2009) is no exception.

Straight off the bat, I can tell you that this is a film that could be seen as largely preaching to the converted. It was born of a different project, one to spread the message about the evils of the oil industry, and became a warning of the dangers facing the environment in the not-too-distant future. The oil theme still runs very strongly in the overall narrative, and I can only assume that the Shell corporation was the target of the original film, as they feature – in a very poor light, it has to be said – throughout.

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To celebrate the 75th birthday of the BFI Southbank, the British Film Institute asked 75 celebrities (some you may have heard of, the rest appear to be fillers) for their favourite film.

The idea behind this was to produce a list of ‘classic movies of the future’. Better yet, the top five as voted by the celebrities and the public alike, will be screened at the BFI Southbank from January 2009. If you go to their web site, you can read the responses to the two questions:

Which one film would you wish to share with future generations?

What excites you about the future of the moving image?

All the links are clickable, and the various celebs will tell you what they voted for and why. You are also invited to nominate your own choice(s) and given the opportunity to provide a comment.

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Striking back against the Empire

Ken Loach’s controversial, Palme d’Or-winning study of Republicans v the Brits in 1920s Ireland raised the hackles of several well-known UK critics (who, customarily, didn’t feel the need to actually see the film) as well as Irish commentators. It’s normally a sign that an artist has got something right when he angers both sides of a debate and claims of bias seem moot when a film comprises such lyrical beauty, steadfast portrayals and a marvellous, articulate script.

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Angry young boy

Young writer-director Shane Meadows is fast making a name for himself as a social commentator in the mould of Ken Loach – his films, such as Dead Man’s Shoes (2004), Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002) and A Room for Romeo Brass (1999) are uncompromising and unforgiving, but have a solid respect for audiences who want to be entertained, rather than preached to. Read the rest of this entry »

Picturenose’s James Drew had the opportunity for a brief chat with director Ken Loach on his recent visit to Brussels, as his hard-hitting indictment on the realities of life for immigrant workers in the UK, It’s A Free World… arrives in Belgium.

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Sobering slant on exploiters and exploited

Long-recognised, from writing Cathy Come Home (1966) onwards, as one of the most uncompromising directors around when it comes to educating audiences about social injustices, Ken Loach has never succumbed to the siren call of Hollywood, and it’s virtually impossible to imagine his particular brand of British socialist realism translating well to that context.

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