I, Daniel Blake

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stuartboy
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I, Daniel Blake

#1 Post by stuartboy » Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:28 pm

A typical Ken Loach contemporary urban essay, this plays like a Channel 4 fly on the wall documentary on inner city poverty/unemployment but without the usually well known VoiceOver narration.

Rather depressing and bleak with just a few glimmers of humour. Much like real life.

Felt more voyeuristic than entertaining to be honest.

5/10

Btw the tinned peaches scene looked more like something from a zombie apocalypse to be honest. Nobody would suddenly eat like that. Bit over acted I felt.
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I, Daniel Blake

#2 Post by Beate » Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:30 pm

Take tissues. Take lots of tissues. I was practically a goner from the time the single Mum dug into a can of cold baked beans at the food bank because she was so hungry. The social commentary is not subtle so I don't expect the Daily Mail to give out tickets for this! This was incredibly real and raw - you could feel the frustration and desperation radiating from the screen. The friendship between Daniel, Katie and her kids was very touching. Everyone should see this. This is what cinema is about.

We all got a postcard with another Daniel Blake code on it for 1, 3 and 11 October, which I've just posted on FF, so you've got no excuse.

9/10
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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#3 Post by Nazerino » Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:24 pm

Very similar to Chronic where there is almost hardly any musical backgrounds but leaves a number of key issues in a forgotten part of society open to debate.

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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#4 Post by mupton » Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:58 pm

usually a fan of Ken Loach's work. But this time around it was a bit lazy: lets cut n paste stories spun by the Labour Party etc. (forgetting they were all part of this too). Just make a party politician broadcast and have been done with it, Ken! In truth you could have made this film, in the 50s, 60s, 70s etc. etc. Its about bureaucracy. But it would have been a far better film, and more of a challenge if the story was told from the perspective of a benefits officer or from many different perspectives. Not a patch on his other work.
Last edited by mupton on Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#5 Post by biggins » Sun Sep 25, 2016 5:34 pm

Felt the frustration he had trying to get help through the fault of a "jobs worth" asking questions that didn't relate to his heart condition.
How many of us can relate to hanging on the phone for ages only to be finally answered by a numpty that was no help at all! ( BT springs to mind) :evil: .
Would have liked to have seen Katie at the end with books on the bookcase and if she had achieved her goal in life.
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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#6 Post by Noorjahapatel » Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:35 pm

Very real for alot of people in this country. Some people just don't want to know but it is happening. It is very sad so you definitely need a hankerchief. We're all in this together, why not help each other?

Well done Ken

9/10
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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#7 Post by yogi » Sun Sep 25, 2016 7:27 pm

This will make your blood boil and tears flow.

The friendship between Daniel and Kattie feels genuine and is filled with warm, touching moments, but at times the rest of the film is heart breaking - the food bank scene in particular is very difficult to watch.

The character's frustration as they get caught up in the rigid, form filling, robotic bureaucracy of the system would be comical at times if the impact wasn't so great (like Ken Loach directing the 'computer says no' sketch)

Some people abuse the system, but lots of people don't and genuinely need help and support in difficult times. That this is happening to people in the UK in the 21st Century should be an embarrassment to anyone in a position of power.

Happened to see this today, apparently rickets and malnutrition are on the rise! http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... s-11922545
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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#8 Post by Cortone » Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:08 pm

Wonderful storytelling, brilliantly acted.

Rabbie Burns commented on 'man's inhumanity to man', which is at the core here, although it is contrasted with deep compassion and humanity, in an increasingly hostile and unsupportive environment. Clear evidence of research picking up the 'breaking points' for those in dire straits.

The Civil Servants responses were rather reminiscent of the Mark Benton Nationwide ads, where the promise of good service is always withdrawn (although these ads were meant to be funny, whereas the reality portrayed in the film was heartbreaking). The food bank staff's humanity was wonderful, although the film highlighted just how some simple things could mean so much.

IMHO - this fully deserved to win the Palme D'Or, although most of those in the Cannes audience would have been miles away from this reality. For me, it was 10/10. Even if it was often hard to watch and the tissues were essential.

I'll probably go back and see it again, although not immediately - I need to recover first.

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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#9 Post by kevinknapman » Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:38 pm

Impassioned social realism is probably not the most obvious type of film subject to get up early for on a Sunday morning but Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake, about people caught up in the infuriating bureaucracy of the UK state welfare system and the things they do to survive, was well worth the effort.
Powerful and painfully moving but with the same kind of humour that has been evident in all of regular Loach collaborator Paul Laverty's scripts. It's a script that also has moments of compassion and kindness throughout that are just as important as the depiction of a maddening system that will be all too familiar to anyone that's been caught in it.
Excellent performances too from Dave Johns as Dan, a widower unable to work after a major heart attack and Hayley Squires as Katie, a single mother forced to move from London to Newcastle into the only flat available for her family. It's their friendship that forms the emotional backbone of this impressive film.
Essential viewing.
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Re: I, Daniel Blake

#10 Post by raj101 » Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:48 pm

4 stars.The welfare trap can be a serious issue in some parts of the country, though I am unsure its truths will make full sense to viewers in Wimbledon where its abused for copping off work for a break/holidays/staying in bed etc. They were probably wondering why there were no subtitles.

you could see the end coming a mile off but it was no less hardhitting.What is sad s that the leads could have solved each others problems if they'd bonded more.
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