BUT DON'T FORGET "THE ANGEL’S SHARE"

Well folks, as some of you know I spent a good few weeks ın Turkey catching up with some much missed sunshine and my somewhat neglected family. Of course this does not mean I stop watching films, oh no. It just means that, partly thanks to my Mom, it becomes just a bit more eclectic. It`s almost like a return to the blogs slightly untidy origins. It feels homely and natural. Which is, coincidentally, what our next film is all about as far as style is concerned.

There may come a day when each and every one of us needs a fresh start in life – you know the old adage; every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. Robbie is just such a sinner, in dire need of a new start in life. He has a lot of what he would need for that new start in place: His loving partner, Leonie and a little one on the way. He also has a criminal record a couple of yards long, a scar on his face that puts off those rare potential employers that get past his criminal record and a father in law who would not stop at physically injuring him to ehm ``convince`` him to stay away from his daughter. In short, Robbie is full of genuine good intentions but his entire universe seems intent on preventing him from going on the straight and narrow. But allies come in many strange shapes and forms in this life and for Robbie no one is surprised as he is when the little group he is doing his community service with after his latest fight and the long-suffering social worker Harry who is in charge of their merry band. Harry does not realize this himself but has actually put the entire band, but especially Robbie well and truly in line for a road to Damascus experience. Salvation can truly come in the strangest guises…

This film also marks my Mom`s introduction to a more realistic brand of filmmaking. “What I loved about it” she said, “ıs that it is almost like watching a documentary. Like watching something happening on the street.” Which is of course completely true of Ken Loach`s realistic style of filmmaking. The film takes place ``up north`` as do so many others of his films; the accents are pronounced and Scottish (so much so that my 91 year old grandmother just gave up on being able to understand them and went to bed early) and the characters are raw, day to day folk that you might well come across in a group doing social work. Even the visuals are unpolished, oh expertly done , of course, but it really does give the impression that Loach literally picked up a camera and followed a band of mates throughout the streets of Scotland – the exact and feel he is so good at capturing. It really goes to show that if you have a really good story and some strong actors to bring it to life, you don`t really need technical bells and whistles to make a really great film. I mean, I say that but there is a risk of underplaying the whole visual aspect when you go down that route. It is much like women`s fashion and getting the ``smart casual`` look just right. The whole ``studied`` casual look is so hard to achieve – it is almost easier to dress up completely formally and get it right because there at least we are all 100% of the rules. It is when you start dropping rules here and there when you actually have to sit up and take heed, because you actually have to know all the rules very well to be able to make a good film by using less.  There lies the real territory of directors who try to play around and ``bend`` the rules without having a clear idea of what they are bending. It comes from being overly ambitious, overly confident, dreaming too big… It comes from wanting to run before one can crawl. But it actually takes a master like Loach to get simplicity completely right.

It is also incredibly refreshing to see such completely real characters in film as opposed to Hollywood cut-outs. I do lean more and more towards indies and non-Hollywood productions for my personal entertainment these days but of course one cannot completely avoid ``mainstream`` cinema and I despair sometimes at the sameness of it all. Robbie is, of course a type in himself. He is the criminal fresh out of jail who wants to make a fresh start. This is a character played and re-played by so many of the grates and not so grates – but in this specific case I am thinking names like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro… Robbie is not a grand character of cinema. He is a lad off the streets, a small time thug who just wants to live a quiet life with his partner and his son. The mastery of Loach and the cast is that they make him come so alive that we get completely enthralled with what will happen to him next during the two hours of The Angel`s Share. 

Curious about this little number - then just scroll down! The trailer is at the end of the page!

AND BACK HOME AGAIN - BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT : "SWEET SIXTEEN"

Not everyone is a great fan of Ken Loach. This, by the way, is something I can quite understand. Social realism is all well and good, heck, I’d go as far as saying that it is necessary, but it is very hard to watch at times. Ironically, it is hard to watch for different reasons whether it is done well or not; badly done it reeks of melodrama and takes itself far too seriously; well done it can be heart-rending, the sort of thing that sticks in your mind for days afterwards. Nearly all Ken Loach’s films are, without a doubt of the second kind. Sweet Sixteen is one of his more recent works that takes an unflinching look at the difficult lives and choices faced by people living in Scotland.
At 15 years old, Liam has already dropped out of school and is something of a businessman. He and his best friend Pinball have a tidy little business selling cigarettes – among other things – on the streets. Liam has had to learn to take care of himself quickly; his Mother is in jail, his father is not in the picture and his mother’s latest boyfriend Stuart is a total and utter bastard and his older sister is busy trying to raise her son on her own. Bleak as the situation may seem, Liam has a dream. His mother is due to come out of prison soon, if by that time Liam can buy a nice house for her to live in, he can get her away from his latest step-father and they can start a new life together, mother and son. What is more, a chance encounter with one of the important men in town seems to offer Liam the break he needs. Sure the dealings he has to get involved in are more than a little shady, but does that really matter if they bring him closer to his dream? Whether the closeness of the dreams is an illusion or a reality however, remains to be seen…
As is most of his films, this too is a stinging critique on the part of Ken Loach of the system we live in today. In Liam’s world, determined by material needs, ethics really do not have a place. Liam’s dreams are those of many young people today really, he dreams of money, a house, material gain. All this, he hopes at any rate, will “buy” him the happiness and more importantly the motherly love he craves. So goal-oriented is young Liam, and also of course he is in so deep at such a young age, that he doesn’t even realize there is an important price to pay for all these, especially in the way he is trying to achieve his goals. As he gets sucked into the underworld, Liam will change, but sadly he will lose very little of his initial naiveté; thus he ends up mimicking the gangsters in films; Scarface and the like, or more immediately for him the real live gangsters all around him, all leading to the films dramatic climax…
As some of you may know, Loach has a number of films specifically about Scotland and the North of England, detailing the economic strife and tough life lived there. This is not least because he is originally a miner’s son from the same area. However, just because a message has been repeated often, it doesn’t make it any less true. And not just in Scotland; all around the world wherever there is economic under-development. Sweet Sixteen is a beautiful and sad reminder of our times, well worth watching and ruminating on…

LIFE SOMETIMES CONTAINS DIFFICULT CHOICES : "AE FOND KISS"

Well, entertainment is important, it is in fact the main “raison d’être” of the cinema. No one can deny, however, that it is also a brilliant opportunity for education and enlightenment if used correctly. The discussion has been going on for donkey’s years, no need to bash on about it now, but it is a fact. An important fact. So that is why it’s a good thing that there are guys like Ken Loach around. Loach is a brilliant director and every single film of his that I have watched has been gripping and technically brilliant. His aim, however, is not merely to take you to “another place” for a couple of hours and rest your weary brow. Oh no. If anything the aim is to weary your brow even further. Loach turns his camera on to what he considers (heck, what most of us consider) wrong with the world we live in today. And his unblinking stare always reveals food for thought – this film is no exception. Ae fond kiss is a look at the famous “multicultural” British society. Loach begs us to consider how well we are managing to live together in peace and harmony despite our differences. And true to style, the outlook is rather bleak…
Casim lives in Glasgow with his family. Their parents, devout Muslims, immigrated to the UK a long time ago; Casim and his two sisters were born and raised here, on that strange border between two cultures. The children go to school – Casim’s younger sister Tahara even goes to a Catholic school – and have friends of all colors and creeds; nevertheless the traditional values of Pakistan are still strong in the community and in the family. Casim is betrothed to his first cousin Jasmin who he has never met face to face; his older sister Rukshan has met her husband through the family and is preparing to marry him. For some it all may seem a touch strange, but on the whole everyone seems content. Until that is, fate brings Casim face to face with Roisin, a music teacher at Tahara’s school. It is love at first sight, they get on so well that it looks as if that they were meant to be together – if they don’t count the outside world of course. Casim has no idea how he will break the news to his parents and Roisin’s devout Catholic employers aren’t too happy about their carrying on either… In the end the question is simple, which will prevail? Love or society?
My God is this one a roller-coaster ride… The parts of Casim and Roisin are so well cast, and the characters and their concerns are so real that once you get into the film you cannot help but have your heart in your mouth until the last minute… Loach’s point, the way I see it, is that people, real people, are far more important than values and prejudices. After all, values and prejudices are both things human beings have put down for themselves. Once you step beyond them a whole new world opens up, and sometimes this is the world that is where you are meant to be. It is particularly hard to be the children of immigrants in a foreign country; on the one hand, for your parents values pertaining to your homeland are living and real, in some cases there is great pressure from the community of immigrants from the same country, everyone has their duty and responsibility… But then, as the children grow up, go to school and socialize a whole new world opens up before them with completely different values and ways of thinking. The choice is often an impossible one; between your family who loves you, cares and wants nothing but what they consider is best for you and your own life, the sheer fact that you yourself drew and followed your own path even if this turned out to be a complete mistake later…
And then there is the very blatant difficulty people have, despite what anyone could possibly say on the matter, with living together, harmoniously and respectfully with people who have completely different values from their own. Theoretically speaking there should be enough planet to go round for all of us but in fact, the simple act of two people falling in love and wanting to live together can cause families to fall apart and careers to end… It may sound ridiculous; it is in fact very, very real…

"IT'S A FREE WORLD"... OR IS IT ?

Ah, the irony of the title alone… But then again, that’s Ken Loach for you… It is true he is one of the last directors who have taken it onto themselves to fight for equality and liberty throughout the world… This is what the critics like to call a “stinging criticism of modern society”. It is also, however, a very, VERY good film. So much so that my Mom got quite upset while watching it (because it was good not otherwise) and decided she “just couldn’t take it”, stopping watching it all together…
Well, meet Angie. She’s a common or garden wage slave like you or me but the thing is, her job is a little original. She works with an agency that places immigrants from various countries in the UK for jobs. It’s a tiring job, but she’s good at it and she needs to make a living for herself and her son Jamie (of whom her parents hold custody). But one fateful day, well to put no finer point on it, she is fired. Anyone who has been fired before knows full well this is NOT a pleasant experience. And in her anger Angie vows she has had enough of being a cog in the system, she wants to be a wheel. Heck, she wants to found her own system. So she does. Found her own company that is. Rose, her friend and business partner – and the more cautious one of the two – cannot quite believe Angie’s bravado, but the masses of money rolling in soon make the whole operation very real indeed… However as the amount of money and power involved grows, Angie just can’t seem to be able to stop… With human lives and thousands of pounds literally in her hands, Angie is no longer a cog, this much is certain, but what then, has she become exactly?
Immigration. I can’t think of a European country that is not “involved” in it first hand in this day and age… The populations of bigger, richer countries complain of the influx of hopefuls looking for a better life, the populations smaller ones dream of joining said influx… But as we complain of “Polish plumbers taking our jobs” we would do well to remember that the said “monster” would not be here “taking our jobs” unless he/she had to. Desperation is the buzz-word here, no doubt about that, and it is this desperation that the “system” or “systems” – like Angie – abuse. What is to be done about it? Well, it is hard to say, ideally the entire planet should be changed to make a fairer, more just system in the entire world, but obviously that will not be happening any time too soon… Still, that doesn’t mean that the plights of untold thousands who, for God knows what reason, set off into the world in search of a better life should be ignored… Call me a hopeless optimist if you will, but I believe it is possible to make the world a better, fairer place… And openly discussing our problems is a very, Very good start.

INTO THE MIND OF ERIC. OR ERIC(S). OR THE PROCESS OF LOOKING FOR ERIC

Life… Sometimes it’s tough. And when one of those times comes around we are often forced to sit back and reevaluate. Sometimes to pick up something new, get rid of the old, grow or change a little. This is not an “age” thing, it happens to us all no matter what our physical age, and this rather sweet film directed by Ken Loach gives a rather brilliant insight into the human psyche and the process of “growing up” and changing things…
Eric is a postman. He has had it rather tough. Two marriages later he has ended up looking after Ryan and Jess his two stepsons. His daughter from his first marriage is desperately trying to graduate from university –but Eric has to look after his granddaughter a few hours a day for that to happen. Not to mention ferrying said granddaughter between his first wife, Lilly, (who he still secretly loves and misses) and his daughter. His stepsons see him more as a convenience, respect is not exactly a by word in their relationship, so much so that the older son Ryan seems to be getting up to all kinds of no good nonsense without so much as a second thought for Eric, the actual owner of the house. Eric has reached that point in life where you look back and start wondering if you got some stuff wrong… Or right. He has grave doubts on that point, especially where Lilly his one true love (who he himself abandoned) is concerned. He seeks solace in Manchester United and his favorite football player, nay idol, Eric Cantona (who “pops in” to visit Eric from time to time. The two of them have lengthy chats and arguments much to the alarm of passersby and his stepsons). But there will come a time where even Monsieur Cantona’s council isn’t enough. Ryan is in a lot of trouble. And Eric has to really step his act up a notch if he’s to get his little family through this and get a second shot at love with Lilly…
I love films that portray real life so clearly. I’m not talking about films about real events like the Killing of John Lennon or The King’s Speech necessarily. No, I mean films that take real life situations, feeling and emotions and put them on the big screen. Like Away We Go for instance. Grand adventures and emotions, worlds of fantasy and mystery are all very well and good, but we mustn’t forget that real life itself is rarely like any of this, and yet contains a lot of adventure and mystery and emotions just the same… And they are all perfectly worthy of their own moment in the sun, if only because these are the moments our lives are actually made up of. This is a wonderful little gem about looking back and rethinking your life. It’s about those moments you simply know you have to up your game plan if you want to carry on. It’s about “growing up” in one sense, taking responsibility. It’s about finding yourself… And because we all have had or at least can imagine ourselves having such moments that it is so easy to sympathize with Eric. Oh and by the way, yes there is Eric Cantona in it and a bit of foot ball with Eric and the rest of the post office but don’t let that put you off, it’s part of the charm of the film… I mean, guys and their football, right? You couldn’t call the film realistic if they didn’t go together…