The 1970 edition of the Cannes Film Festival was noted for giving rise to several bold new voices. Robert Altman arrived as an established (and notoriously troublesome) TV director but left a Palme d’Or winner with M*A*S*H, his launchpad to becoming one of the most pivotal figures of contemporary cinema. In the Directors’ Fortnight competition, then a year old, the German absurdist comedy Even Dwarfs Started Small gave audiences a hint of what a 20-something festival first-timer named Werner Herzog might have up his creative sleeve.
Over in the Critics’ Week sidebar, a rising English director named Ken Loach also was making his Cannes debut (like Herzog with his second feature).
The bespectacled 33-year-old had arrived as part of what he describes as a “rather snooty” U.K. delegation that didn’t have much time for someone then known for hard-hitting TV docudramas and not considered part...
Over in the Critics’ Week sidebar, a rising English director named Ken Loach also was making his Cannes debut (like Herzog with his second feature).
The bespectacled 33-year-old had arrived as part of what he describes as a “rather snooty” U.K. delegation that didn’t have much time for someone then known for hard-hitting TV docudramas and not considered part...
- 5/16/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
’Sorry We Missed You’ and ’Little Joe’ both split opinion.
Cannes veteran Pedro Almodóvar has stormed to the top of the Screen Cannes jury grid with his latest film Pain And Glory, starring Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz.
Appearing in Competition at the festival for the sixth time, Almodóvar’s film took a 3.4 average, with two critics still to score. It achieved as many scores of four (excellent) as all the other titles so far put together, with four critics – Time’s Stephanie Zacharek, the La Times’ Justin Chang, Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Positif’s Michel Ciment – all giving it top marks.
Cannes veteran Pedro Almodóvar has stormed to the top of the Screen Cannes jury grid with his latest film Pain And Glory, starring Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz.
Appearing in Competition at the festival for the sixth time, Almodóvar’s film took a 3.4 average, with two critics still to score. It achieved as many scores of four (excellent) as all the other titles so far put together, with four critics – Time’s Stephanie Zacharek, the La Times’ Justin Chang, Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Positif’s Michel Ciment – all giving it top marks.
- 5/18/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The New York Film Festival kicks off this week, sending us straight into the second half of a very busy fall festival season. In preparation for the festival, we’re rolling out a series of previews to point you in the direction of all the movies you have to see (or at least, all the movies you have to start anticipating right now). Today, some new offerings from cinema’s greatest master and auteurs — new, emerging and beloved.
“Manchester By The Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
Over the course of just three feature films, multi-hyphenate Kenneth Lonergan has proven himself to be one of America’s most exciting rising auteurs. Uniquely capable of capturing great emotion without even a hint of melodrama or a single false note, his long-awaited follow-up to the grievously mistreated “Margaret” — perhaps this decade’s cinematic endeavor most deserving of critical reappraisal after critical reappraisal — again returns him...
“Manchester By The Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
Over the course of just three feature films, multi-hyphenate Kenneth Lonergan has proven himself to be one of America’s most exciting rising auteurs. Uniquely capable of capturing great emotion without even a hint of melodrama or a single false note, his long-awaited follow-up to the grievously mistreated “Margaret” — perhaps this decade’s cinematic endeavor most deserving of critical reappraisal after critical reappraisal — again returns him...
- 9/30/2016
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, Chris O'Falt and Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
This is the Pure Movies review of The Violators, directed by Helen Walsh, and starring Lauren McQueen (The Mill, Ordinary Lies) and Brogan Ellis (Waterloo Road) alongside Stephen Lord (Penny Dreadful, Shameless, Route Irish), Liam Ainsworth (Kajaki), Derek Barr (Pride) and newcomer Callum King Chadwick. The Violators is a wounding look at a young woman’s navigation through life whilst encountering dangerous men at every corner, chipping away at her hardened exterior. Bestselling author Helen Walsh (The Lemon Grove) has translated her interest in transgressive sexualities, gender and class onto film. With a female writer and director, and starring two female protagonists, The Violators is significant in a time where there is a perceived dearth of women film directors. The events of the story are shocking but the waves this film will make in terms of disturbing the male-dominated status quo of cinema will be more deeply felt.
- 7/12/2016
- by Helen Chapman
- Pure Movies
In the lead up to Cannes, we revisit the 2010 Screen Jury Grid and reflect on what critics around the world had to say about the films in Competition.
Each year, Screen calls upon its international jury of critics to cast their judgement on the films in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and rounds up the results in the ever-popular Screen Jury Grid.
In 2010, top marks from the critics went to Mike Leigh’s romantic drama Another Year, which scored a strong 3.4 out of 4. The ensemble drama was Leigh’s fourth film in Competition at Cannes, including Secrets and Lies, which won the top prize in 1996.
Leigh has since been up for the Palme d’Or with biopic Mr Turner, which starred Timothy Spall as eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner, for which he won best actor at the festival in 2014.
But in 2010, the Palme d’Or went to fantasy drama Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall...
Each year, Screen calls upon its international jury of critics to cast their judgement on the films in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and rounds up the results in the ever-popular Screen Jury Grid.
In 2010, top marks from the critics went to Mike Leigh’s romantic drama Another Year, which scored a strong 3.4 out of 4. The ensemble drama was Leigh’s fourth film in Competition at Cannes, including Secrets and Lies, which won the top prize in 1996.
Leigh has since been up for the Palme d’Or with biopic Mr Turner, which starred Timothy Spall as eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner, for which he won best actor at the festival in 2014.
But in 2010, the Palme d’Or went to fantasy drama Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall...
- 5/3/2016
- ScreenDaily
The UK’s Sixteen Films is joining forces with French Le Pacte, German Pandora and Egyptian Film Clinic to co-produce Palestinian filmmaker’s Sameh Zoabi Gaza-set comedy Catch The Moon.
Described as a “dramatic comedy”, it revolves around a father and son’s attempts to a get a brand new Mercedes into Gaza during an Israeli blockade, after the father promises the son’s new bride the car as a gift.
Determined to keep the promise, the pair will go to any lengths to get the prestigious vehicle into the closed territory.
Jean Labadie’s Paris-based production and distribution house Le Pacte is also handling international sales.
Zoabi, whose credits include the comic Man Without a Cellphone, will direct the film from an original first screenplay by writer Anne Koski-Wood.
“Anne’s starting point was imagining what on earth normal life could be like in Gaza… it’s a difficult concept and this evolved into a dramatic...
Described as a “dramatic comedy”, it revolves around a father and son’s attempts to a get a brand new Mercedes into Gaza during an Israeli blockade, after the father promises the son’s new bride the car as a gift.
Determined to keep the promise, the pair will go to any lengths to get the prestigious vehicle into the closed territory.
Jean Labadie’s Paris-based production and distribution house Le Pacte is also handling international sales.
Zoabi, whose credits include the comic Man Without a Cellphone, will direct the film from an original first screenplay by writer Anne Koski-Wood.
“Anne’s starting point was imagining what on earth normal life could be like in Gaza… it’s a difficult concept and this evolved into a dramatic...
- 5/13/2015
- ScreenDaily
Renowned filmmaker Ken Loach returns behind the camera once more this year to bring us another anticipated drama in the form of Jimmy’s Hall, based on the true story of Jimmy Gralton.
Loach, one of the most prolific directors throughout his career, brought us the well-received documentary The Spirit of ’45 last year, and Jimmy’s Hall sees him back in narrative feature territory, following on from 2012’s award-winning The Angels’ Share.
With its release date just around the corner at the end of next month, eOne have released the first trailer to whet our appetites.
In 1921 Jimmy Gralton’s sin was to build a dance hall on a rural crossroads in Ireland where young people could come to learn, to argue, to dream… but above all to dance and have fun. Jimmy’s Hall celebrates the spirit of these free thinkers. The film is set in 1932 and follows events...
Loach, one of the most prolific directors throughout his career, brought us the well-received documentary The Spirit of ’45 last year, and Jimmy’s Hall sees him back in narrative feature territory, following on from 2012’s award-winning The Angels’ Share.
With its release date just around the corner at the end of next month, eOne have released the first trailer to whet our appetites.
In 1921 Jimmy Gralton’s sin was to build a dance hall on a rural crossroads in Ireland where young people could come to learn, to argue, to dream… but above all to dance and have fun. Jimmy’s Hall celebrates the spirit of these free thinkers. The film is set in 1932 and follows events...
- 4/8/2014
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Ken Loach will receive an honorary Golden Bear award at the 64th Berlin Film Festival.
The event will pay tribute to Loach's life and career in February by screening his 1993 classic Raining Stones.
Berlin Film Festival director Dieter Kosslick has called Loach "one of Europe's great directors".
Kosslick went on to say: "Over his almost 50-year career, he has shown an extraordinary degree of continuity, while remaining innovative at all times. His profound interest in people and their individual fates, as well as his critical commitment to society have found expression in a variety of cinematic approaches.
"We are honouring Ken Loach as a director and greatly admire him for how he reflects on social injustices with humour in his films."
The 64th Berlin Film Festival will be held from February 6 to February 16.
Loach has directed many critically-acclaimed films throughout his career, including Cathy Home, Riff-Raff, The Angels' Share and Route Irish.
The event will pay tribute to Loach's life and career in February by screening his 1993 classic Raining Stones.
Berlin Film Festival director Dieter Kosslick has called Loach "one of Europe's great directors".
Kosslick went on to say: "Over his almost 50-year career, he has shown an extraordinary degree of continuity, while remaining innovative at all times. His profound interest in people and their individual fates, as well as his critical commitment to society have found expression in a variety of cinematic approaches.
"We are honouring Ken Loach as a director and greatly admire him for how he reflects on social injustices with humour in his films."
The 64th Berlin Film Festival will be held from February 6 to February 16.
Loach has directed many critically-acclaimed films throughout his career, including Cathy Home, Riff-Raff, The Angels' Share and Route Irish.
- 11/29/2013
- Digital Spy
Exclusive: Jimmy’s Hall, which has begun shooting in Ireland, is likely to be Ken Loach’s last narrative feature - but he will continue to direct documentaries.
Ken Loach’s upcoming drama, Jimmy’s Hall, will likely be his last, according to regular producer Rebecca O’Brien.
“This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken,” O’Brien told ScreenDaily. “There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of moving parts so it’s a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we’re on top.”
O’Brien, who has produced more than a dozen features with Loach since 1990, said that the 77 year-old director is likely to continue to make documentaries and TV work but that he is “unlikely” to make another narrative feature.
“It’s such a huge operation and Ken doesn...
Ken Loach’s upcoming drama, Jimmy’s Hall, will likely be his last, according to regular producer Rebecca O’Brien.
“This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken,” O’Brien told ScreenDaily. “There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of moving parts so it’s a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we’re on top.”
O’Brien, who has produced more than a dozen features with Loach since 1990, said that the 77 year-old director is likely to continue to make documentaries and TV work but that he is “unlikely” to make another narrative feature.
“It’s such a huge operation and Ken doesn...
- 8/8/2013
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Jimmy’s Hall, which has begun shooting in Ireland, is likely to be Ken Loach’s last narrative feature - but he will continue to direct documentaries.
Ken Loach’s upcoming drama, Jimmy’s Hall, will likely be his last, according to regular producer Rebecca O’Brien.
“This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken,” O’Brien told ScreenDaily. “There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of interconnecting elements so it’s a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we’re on top.”
O’Brien, who has produced more than a dozen features with Loach since 1990, said that the 77 year-old director is likely to continue to make documentaries and TV work but that he is “unlikely” to make another narrative feature.
“It’s such a huge operation and Ken doesn...
Ken Loach’s upcoming drama, Jimmy’s Hall, will likely be his last, according to regular producer Rebecca O’Brien.
“This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken,” O’Brien told ScreenDaily. “There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of interconnecting elements so it’s a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we’re on top.”
O’Brien, who has produced more than a dozen features with Loach since 1990, said that the 77 year-old director is likely to continue to make documentaries and TV work but that he is “unlikely” to make another narrative feature.
“It’s such a huge operation and Ken doesn...
- 8/8/2013
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The working class are a little funny in “The Angels’ Share,” English director Ken Loach’s new bluecollar comedy. “The Angels’ Share” is Loach’s (“Kes”) premiered at Cannes last year after his “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” won the 2006 Palme d’Or and both "Route Irish" and "Looking for Eric" played in competition in 2010 and 2009, respectively. Tonally, Loach’s latest is more of a piece with “Looking for Eric” than “Sweet Sixteen,” though all three films concern young people looking for a way to find a loophole and rise above their lousy social stations in life. In Loach’s recent films, capitalism is like a ponzi scheme and his well-intentioned protagonists are all victims looking to get out with a little something for themselves. In “The Angels’ Share,” members of a Scottish, court-mandated community service group plot to make a little money for themselves and are generically rewarded for their efforts.
- 4/9/2013
- by Simon Abrams
- The Playlist
Last week saw the release of The Avengers here in the UK, the year’s biggest film to date, and the third-highest-grossing film of all time. Naturally, it was a pretty good week – somewhat marred, however, by the fact that the UK edition has a violent scene edited and Joss Whedon’s commentary track omitted.
Needless to say, I’ll be importing my copy from the Us sometime in the future, after its release there tomorrow. (It also means I’ll have the proper title – ‘The Avengers’ – on the cover, and not just ‘Avengers Assemble’, a name which I refuse to use, because ‘The Avengers’ is just way cooler.)
This week is just as big a week all round, with Whedon returning to the home entertainment market in the form of The Cabin in the Woods, along with the equally-praised Indonesian action film, The Raid, and many more excellent films.
Needless to say, I’ll be importing my copy from the Us sometime in the future, after its release there tomorrow. (It also means I’ll have the proper title – ‘The Avengers’ – on the cover, and not just ‘Avengers Assemble’, a name which I refuse to use, because ‘The Avengers’ is just way cooler.)
This week is just as big a week all round, with Whedon returning to the home entertainment market in the form of The Cabin in the Woods, along with the equally-praised Indonesian action film, The Raid, and many more excellent films.
- 9/24/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The definition of a ‘Conspiracy Theory’ refers to the belief that unpleasant things which happen – usually in relation to government actions, but not always refined to this – are planned by people who want to cause difficulties and that such things do not, and will not, happen by chance or without the control of such parties.
You put something up on the cinema screen based around that and add complex plots, gritty dialogue, base it in the believability of the everyday, occasionally throw in a devastating, brutal and very dark twist and I am most definitely there to view.
I’m, as you can gather, a Huge fan of the conspiracy thriller so culling the list down to my favourite Twenty was a hard task. Along the way I had to gut-wrenchingly cut some genuinely terrific films. So, before we get into what I’m calling my twenty favourite conspiracy movies...
You put something up on the cinema screen based around that and add complex plots, gritty dialogue, base it in the believability of the everyday, occasionally throw in a devastating, brutal and very dark twist and I am most definitely there to view.
I’m, as you can gather, a Huge fan of the conspiracy thriller so culling the list down to my favourite Twenty was a hard task. Along the way I had to gut-wrenchingly cut some genuinely terrific films. So, before we get into what I’m calling my twenty favourite conspiracy movies...
- 9/21/2012
- by Gareth Howie
- Obsessed with Film
The awkwardly titled “I Against I” is a new British thriller from writer director James Marquand, son of Richard Marquand, best known for helming “Return of the Jedi” and “Jagged Edge” back in the 1980s. The film is a complex, noir-tinged affair, with a twisting, cat and mouse plot played out against a stylishly modern London background, its events taking place over the course of a single night and intertwined with flashbacks. Without giving too much away, things kick off with a businessman called Drake (Kenny Doughty, “The Incident”) being snatched by the ruthless gangster Joseph (Mark Womack, “Route Irish”), who accuses him of having killed his father Tommy (veteran Brit television actor John Castle). Although Drake denies the murder, Joseph has CCTV footage of him in the building at the time of the crime, and with Tommy having owed him money, the pieces seem to fit. When Drake claims...
- 8/8/2012
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
There is a tendency to automatically associate the cinema of social realism exclusively with depicting unfortunate characters in desperate, bleakly laughless predicaments, and for much of Ken Loach’s back catalogue, this description might hold water. His latest film, the Cannes Jury Prize-winning The Angels’ Share, however, surprises as one of the year’s funniest films, while delivering an emotionally stirring tale of working-class redemption that is more typical of the director.
When we first meet young Scotsman Robbie (Paul Brannigan), he is before a judge being sentenced for a heinous and violent crime, getting off lightly with a measure of “community payback”. With the birth of his son, Robbie realises he has one final chance left to straighten his life out, and when the payback foreman Harry (John Henshaw) introduces him to some fine whiskey, he sees a chance to throw himself into something wholesome and also make some money.
There is a tendency to automatically associate the cinema of social realism exclusively with depicting unfortunate characters in desperate, bleakly laughless predicaments, and for much of Ken Loach’s back catalogue, this description might hold water. His latest film, the Cannes Jury Prize-winning The Angels’ Share, however, surprises as one of the year’s funniest films, while delivering an emotionally stirring tale of working-class redemption that is more typical of the director.
When we first meet young Scotsman Robbie (Paul Brannigan), he is before a judge being sentenced for a heinous and violent crime, getting off lightly with a measure of “community payback”. With the birth of his son, Robbie realises he has one final chance left to straighten his life out, and when the payback foreman Harry (John Henshaw) introduces him to some fine whiskey, he sees a chance to throw himself into something wholesome and also make some money.
- 6/3/2012
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
Ken Loach expertly combines comedy with politics – and a drop of the hard stuff – in a warm, deftly-plotted heist movie
Though not generally considered a comedy director, Ken Loach has made films that have contained some of the funniest moments and sequences of the past 50 years, and he has regularly employed club comedians in serious roles (Crissy Rock in Ladybird Ladybird, John Bishop in Route Irish) and developed the talents of people such as Ricky Tomlinson not previously considered comics. It's just that Loach is a master of sudden, disturbing shifts of mood, and the comedy is embedded in works that are often deeply sad or tragic. The football game, for instance, that Brian Glover referees in Kes is at once hilariously funny and a brilliant study of bullying, bad education and humiliation that illuminates the film's larger context.
The background of The Angels' Share, his latest collaboration with the...
Though not generally considered a comedy director, Ken Loach has made films that have contained some of the funniest moments and sequences of the past 50 years, and he has regularly employed club comedians in serious roles (Crissy Rock in Ladybird Ladybird, John Bishop in Route Irish) and developed the talents of people such as Ricky Tomlinson not previously considered comics. It's just that Loach is a master of sudden, disturbing shifts of mood, and the comedy is embedded in works that are often deeply sad or tragic. The football game, for instance, that Brian Glover referees in Kes is at once hilariously funny and a brilliant study of bullying, bad education and humiliation that illuminates the film's larger context.
The background of The Angels' Share, his latest collaboration with the...
- 6/2/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Swapping waterboarding for the water of life, Ken Loach's latest project, The Angels' Share, is a world away from his taut Iraq war thriller Route Irish. "Hey, even political warriors need to chill y'all," is probably not how Ken would put it. Landing with us from, we'd like to think, an internet cafe in Cannes, this new clip from Loach's new film does a nice job of establishing the tone of his new comedy-drama. The acting is as naturalistic as you'd expect from a Loach film and nicely-judged, too, while the Scottish setting is a geographical departure to accompany the genre switcheroo.The scene shows Glaswegian young offender Robbie (Paul Brannigan) and his whisky-loving social worker (John Henshaw) sharing a close encounter with some exceeding fine single malts. brightcove.createExperiences(); As the trailer shows, it's not without it's serious aspects too. Expect a mingling of gentle humour and spiky...
- 5/23/2012
- EmpireOnline
Not sure if Guinness World Records took note of this new Cannes factoid, but The Angel’s Share is Ken Loach’s record breaking 13th film in the Main Competition (get an eye full of his Cannes selected filmography here). Starring old Loach players and some new faces, Our Critics’ Panel almost equivocally rated this Glasgow set comedy as a 3 star quality type of film — a great recovery in sorts from his last picture in 2010′s Route Irish. Click to enlarge!
- 5/22/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The working class are a little funny in “The Angels’ Share,” English director Ken Loach’s new bluecollar comedy. “The Angels’ Share” is Loach’s (“Kes”) latest film to play Cannes after his “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” won the 2006 Palme D’Or and both "Route Irish" and "Looking for Eric" played in competition in 2010 and 2009, respectively. Tonally, Loach’s latest is more of a piece with “Looking for Eric” than “Sweet Sixteen,” though all three films concern young people looking for a way to find a loophole and rise above their lousy social stations in life.
In Loach’s recent films, capitalism is like a ponzi scheme and his well-intentioned protagonists are all victims looking to get out with a little something for themselves. In “The Angels’ Share,” members of a Scottish, court-mandated community service group plot to make a little money for themselves and are generically rewarded for their efforts.
In Loach’s recent films, capitalism is like a ponzi scheme and his well-intentioned protagonists are all victims looking to get out with a little something for themselves. In “The Angels’ Share,” members of a Scottish, court-mandated community service group plot to make a little money for themselves and are generically rewarded for their efforts.
- 5/21/2012
- by Simon Abrams
- The Playlist
Coming off the back of last year's critically-acclaimed yet rarely-seen Route Irish (2010), Palme d'Or-winning British director Ken Loach reunites with screenwriter Paul Laverty this year for Scottish comedy-drama The Angels' Share (2012). Yet again, Loach will present his latest film to the world via the Croisette after it was selected to screen in competition at this year's 65th Cannes Film Festival.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 4/20/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Photo: Cannes Film Festival Update: The full line-up is now available right here. We are now less than 24 hours away from the official 2012 Cannes Film Festival line-up announcement and I have to admit, my excitement for what may come is hitting overload. As much as the Toronto Film Festival has come to be the place where several films begin their Oscar run, there simply is nothing better than the international cinematic prestige of attending the Cannes Film Festival each year and this will mark my third year attending. With that in mind, late last night I added an additional nine films to the RopeofSilicon database that have the potential of being named during tomorrow's (April 19) announcement, which should come sometime around 2 or 3 Am Pst. After doing so I felt it wouldn't hurt to take one last look at what films have the strongest chance of showing up at the festival this year.
- 4/18/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
It seems we’re never far away from seeing a Ken Loach film in theaters, with the director consistently churning out a film every two years for the lion’s share of his career. Perhaps churned is a poor choice of words though, because it’s rare that a Ken Loach film receives anything but praise – the only variable seems to be whether they are good or great. Loach’s last effort, “Route Irish,” was one of the good but not great ones, and from the first look we’ve had at his latest feature we’re tempted to say this looks like it may be of a similar quality.
The first trailer has hit the web for “The Angels' Share,” starring newcomer Paul Brannigan alongside a few more recognizable faces including Roger Allam (“V For Vendetta”) and John Henshaw (“Looking For Eric”). The film follows Brannigan’s Robbie; an...
The first trailer has hit the web for “The Angels' Share,” starring newcomer Paul Brannigan alongside a few more recognizable faces including Roger Allam (“V For Vendetta”) and John Henshaw (“Looking For Eric”). The film follows Brannigan’s Robbie; an...
- 4/4/2012
- by Joe Cunningham
- The Playlist
Director Ken Loach has always strived for realism in his socially-conscious films, so it's no surprise that his next project is a documentary about socialism. Enjoying the most prolific decade of his long career, the 75-year-old director's last film, the 2010 drama-thriller "Route Irish," examined the corruption of private contractors working in Iraq, while his foray into documentary, titled "Spirit of '45," will be an even broader affair — focusing on the changes to the social and political landscape of Britain immediately following the end of World War II.
Loach is already hard at work on the seemingly laborious film, which, according to Variety, will ultimately study "how the spirit of a new kind of socialism shaped that time and continues to reflect in modern-day Blighty." To make the doc, Loach will utilize footage from the U.K.'s regional and national archives, as well as photographs, sound recordings and contemporary interviews.
Loach is already hard at work on the seemingly laborious film, which, according to Variety, will ultimately study "how the spirit of a new kind of socialism shaped that time and continues to reflect in modern-day Blighty." To make the doc, Loach will utilize footage from the U.K.'s regional and national archives, as well as photographs, sound recordings and contemporary interviews.
- 3/30/2012
- by Ryan Gowland
- The Playlist
Whenever there's word of a new project from legendary British director Ken Loach, we sit up and take notice. If that project is connected in some way to the Cannes Film Festival, our ears prick up even more in regards to the Palme d'Or winner. Before you get too excited though we should point out that this is related to Loach's latest short film, not a new feature, although we'll take anything we can get. Loach has a new short film in the works titled "Plenty More Fish In The Sea," and it's sounds pretty promising. The story will center on a forty year old man (played by "Route Irish" star Trevor Wlliams) who's been married twenty years and has two children, and focuses on his foray into internet dating and a doomed affair. Sounds like a project perfect for the social realist director, though there's no word yet on when it will lens.
- 2/27/2012
- by Joe Cunningham
- Indiewire
Whenever there's word of a new project from legendary British director Ken Loach, we sit up and take notice. If that project is connected in some way to the Cannes Film Festival, our ears prick up even more in regards to the Palme d'Or winner. Before you get too excited though we should point out that this is related to Loach's latest short film, not a new feature, although we'll take anything we can get.
Loach has a new short film in the works titled "Plenty More Fish In The Sea," and it's sounds pretty promising. The story will center on a forty year old man (played by "Route Irish" star Trevor Wlliams) who's been married twenty years and has two children, and focuses on his foray into internet dating and a doomed affair. Sounds like a project perfect for the social realist director, though there's no word yet on when it will lens.
Loach has a new short film in the works titled "Plenty More Fish In The Sea," and it's sounds pretty promising. The story will center on a forty year old man (played by "Route Irish" star Trevor Wlliams) who's been married twenty years and has two children, and focuses on his foray into internet dating and a doomed affair. Sounds like a project perfect for the social realist director, though there's no word yet on when it will lens.
- 2/27/2012
- by Joe Cunningham
- The Playlist
The word "legend" gets thrown around a lot, but it's a mantle that filmmaker Ken Loach fully deserves. We're not going to recap the many accomplishments and honors his lengthy career has seen so far, but in the last few years his energy and curiousity have shown no signs of abating. His work has ranged from early 20th century drama ("The Wind That Shakes The Barley"), footballer dramedy ("Looking For Eric") and post-Iraq War meditations ("Route Irish") and for his next effort, we'll see another change of focus. Loach geared up lensing on "The Angels' Share" last spring, and all signs point to a return to Cannes for the filmmaker with a summer release overseas looming his film. A handful of returning players come to play with the director again including John Henshaw ("Looking for Eric"), William Ruane ("The Wind That Shakes the Barley"), Gary Maitland ("Sweet Sixteen") and Roger.
- 2/20/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
There’s a decidedly oriental tinge to this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival. Jiang Wen’s extremely successful rice-noodle Chinese comedy western Let The Bullets Fly (which had its premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival – read my review Here) has been chosen as the opening night film and there’s a ‘Cool Japan’ line-up which features the Australian premieres of Makoto Shinkai‘s (Voice of a Distant Star) exquisitely rendered anime Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below - a nostalgic and mystical adventure concerning family loss which firmly places the young director in a league with the laudable likes of manga masters Katsuhiro Ohtomo, Mamoru Oshii and Hayao Miyazaki. On the non-animated front we have the welcome return screenings of Anh Hung Tran‘s Sydney Film festival favourite Norweigan Wood and Takashi Miike‘s kinetic Seven Samurai throwback 13 Assassins. Two further manic manga adaptations, Shinsuke Sato...
- 11/21/2011
- by Oliver Pfeiffer
- Obsessed with Film
To mark conspiracy thriller Route Irish showing on Sky Movies Box Office the same day it opens at cinemas we've got hold of the trailer as a little taster. Acclaimed director Ken Loach's hard-hitting drama examines the effects of combat on security contractors working in the Gulf. The film will be released in at least 20 cinemas across the UK from March 18, the same day it will be available to Sky Anytime and Sky Movies Box Office’s 10m subscribers for two weeks only.
- 11/1/2011
- Sky Movies
Masterclass: Barry Ackroyd
“The most peaceful place you can be on a film set is when you put your eye to the camera.”
On Monday night at the BFI, British cinematographer Barry Ackroyd talked to Screen International Editor Mike Goodridge about his 30 years in film and TV. It’s a shame there wasn’t a full house in NFT3 and that I had to sit at an uncomfortable 45-degree angle to see the discussion. The good news was that Ackroyd’s eloquence matches his skills behind the camera and he sounded like a poet as he alluded to the “flow” of his work.
If there’s one word you probably wouldn’t use in association with Ackroyd’s recent films it’s peaceful. This is the guy who shot Ralph Fiennes’s Balkan-set Coriolanus, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker and United 93. Given his talent for depicting war zones,...
“The most peaceful place you can be on a film set is when you put your eye to the camera.”
On Monday night at the BFI, British cinematographer Barry Ackroyd talked to Screen International Editor Mike Goodridge about his 30 years in film and TV. It’s a shame there wasn’t a full house in NFT3 and that I had to sit at an uncomfortable 45-degree angle to see the discussion. The good news was that Ackroyd’s eloquence matches his skills behind the camera and he sounded like a poet as he alluded to the “flow” of his work.
If there’s one word you probably wouldn’t use in association with Ackroyd’s recent films it’s peaceful. This is the guy who shot Ralph Fiennes’s Balkan-set Coriolanus, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker and United 93. Given his talent for depicting war zones,...
- 10/20/2011
- by Susannah
- SoundOnSight
I'd long since grown bored with the characters in my third novel, Kelly+Victor – until a film set brought them clamouring back for my attention
The Molyneux pub, a big corner boozer in the Kensington/Anfield area of Liverpool, looks like a crime scene. Indeed, the rumour will spread that it has been the scene of a fatal shooting: blackout sheets drape the windows, official-looking people mill on the pavements, cameras and booms are in evidence. This is a not uncommon sight here, except today there is a distinct lack of high-visibility police jerkins. Inside the pub, the air is one of hushed reverence. Someone whispers a greeting in my ear, steers me over python cables and sits me down in front of a monitor. Then they put some earphones on my head. On the screen, a desperate-looking young man leans over a table towards a desperate-looking young woman and...
The Molyneux pub, a big corner boozer in the Kensington/Anfield area of Liverpool, looks like a crime scene. Indeed, the rumour will spread that it has been the scene of a fatal shooting: blackout sheets drape the windows, official-looking people mill on the pavements, cameras and booms are in evidence. This is a not uncommon sight here, except today there is a distinct lack of high-visibility police jerkins. Inside the pub, the air is one of hushed reverence. Someone whispers a greeting in my ear, steers me over python cables and sits me down in front of a monitor. Then they put some earphones on my head. On the screen, a desperate-looking young man leans over a table towards a desperate-looking young woman and...
- 9/22/2011
- by Niall Griffiths
- The Guardian - Film News
The leftwing film director talks about the riots, his early work on television and the documentary he made for Save the Children 40 years ago that is about to be screened for the first time
About halfway through our interview, I call Ken Loach a sadist. The mild-mannered, faintly mole-like film director blinks hard, chuckles, and carries on. We are discussing a key aspect of his film-making: the element of surprise. Loach has spent his career depicting ordinary people, telling working-class stories as truthfully as possible, and he works distinctively – filming each scene in order, often using non-professional actors, encouraging improvisation.
They don't tend to see a full script in advance, and move through his films as confused as the audience about what lurks around the next corner. I ask Loach which surprise was most memorable, and he laughs incongruously through a few examples. He talks about an incident when an actor walked through a door,...
About halfway through our interview, I call Ken Loach a sadist. The mild-mannered, faintly mole-like film director blinks hard, chuckles, and carries on. We are discussing a key aspect of his film-making: the element of surprise. Loach has spent his career depicting ordinary people, telling working-class stories as truthfully as possible, and he works distinctively – filming each scene in order, often using non-professional actors, encouraging improvisation.
They don't tend to see a full script in advance, and move through his films as confused as the audience about what lurks around the next corner. I ask Loach which surprise was most memorable, and he laughs incongruously through a few examples. He talks about an incident when an actor walked through a door,...
- 8/29/2011
- by Kira Cochrane
- The Guardian - Film News
Sony says that fire crews are still at its wrecked DVD and CD factory in Enfield, north London. Smoke levels are preventing surveyors from getting in and assessing damage. Rioters broke in to the Sony Dadc Distribution Centre on Monday night and set it ablaze. The studio, which handles physical DVD distribution for indie UK distributors and record companies, says that 25 million discs have been lost in the arson attack. Disney Games titles as well as Sony’s own discs have been hit by the blaze. Sony is remanufacturing 1.5 million discs that need to be shipped urgently from its manufacturing sites elsewhere in the UK and Austria. It is sending out more discs out direct from its UK manufacturing site to reduce shipping delays. And other home-entertainment distributors have also pitched in offering to help. Indie UK distributors who have also lost stock in the Sony fire include Artificial Eye,...
- 8/11/2011
- by TIM ADLER in London
- Deadline London
Hour-long film made for Save the Children in 1969 will be shown as part of major retrospective at the British Film Institute
The veteran film director Ken Loach is used to having his works banned, but none have previously had to wait more than 40 years for a public showing.
His television documentaries on trade unions in the 1980s were pulled from broadcasting and his film Hidden Agenda found few cinemas willing to show it. In September, however, an hour-long documentary film that he made for the Save the Children charity in 1969 is finally to get an airing as part of a major retrospective at the British Film Institute (BFI).
The reasons for the ban remain obscure. It seems to have had something to do with the director's pugnacious take on race, class and charity in a capitalist society, or perhaps the quotation from Engels that prefaced what was supposed to be...
The veteran film director Ken Loach is used to having his works banned, but none have previously had to wait more than 40 years for a public showing.
His television documentaries on trade unions in the 1980s were pulled from broadcasting and his film Hidden Agenda found few cinemas willing to show it. In September, however, an hour-long documentary film that he made for the Save the Children charity in 1969 is finally to get an airing as part of a major retrospective at the British Film Institute (BFI).
The reasons for the ban remain obscure. It seems to have had something to do with the director's pugnacious take on race, class and charity in a capitalist society, or perhaps the quotation from Engels that prefaced what was supposed to be...
- 7/21/2011
- by Stephen Bates
- The Guardian - Film News
Each year, The Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) features a roster of highly contentious films from acclaimed/controversial filmmakers. This year is no exception, with films by the likes of Lars Von Trier (Melancholia), Werner Herzog (The Cave of Forgotten Dreams), Fred Schepisi (The Eye of the Storm), Peter Mullan (Neds), Errol Morris (Tabloid) and Ken Loach (Route Irish) all making an appearance. (Loach is a particularly interesting presence, given that he submitted - then withdrew - Looking for Eric in 2009 because of the festival's links with Israel). The festival will begin on the 21st of July, but - until then - Filmink will present a series of previews, beginning with new films by James Marsh (Man on Wire) and Schepisi (The Devil's Playground).
- 7/11/2011
- FilmInk.com.au
It’s another jam-packed week of DVD and Blu-ray releases, here’s the rundown of what’s available to buy from today, May 23rd 2011.
True Blood: The Complete Season 3 (DVD/Blu-ray)
In Bon Temps, everyone has something to hide. But when new threats emerge, no one can conceal the secrets of their past. After Sookie discovers that Bill’s been kidnapped, she heads to Mississippi where she becomes entangled in a world ruled by a pack of vicious werewolves and the powerful Vampire King, Russell Edgington. There, her powers resurface and she learns that Bill may not be trusted. Eric is also drawn to the King’s domain to settle an old score; Tara dives deep into turmoil; Jason falls for a mysterious woman; Lafayette can’t avoid love or demons; Jessica sharpens her vampire skills; and Sam uncovers the truth about his birth family. It all leads up to the revelation of the series…...
True Blood: The Complete Season 3 (DVD/Blu-ray)
In Bon Temps, everyone has something to hide. But when new threats emerge, no one can conceal the secrets of their past. After Sookie discovers that Bill’s been kidnapped, she heads to Mississippi where she becomes entangled in a world ruled by a pack of vicious werewolves and the powerful Vampire King, Russell Edgington. There, her powers resurface and she learns that Bill may not be trusted. Eric is also drawn to the King’s domain to settle an old score; Tara dives deep into turmoil; Jason falls for a mysterious woman; Lafayette can’t avoid love or demons; Jessica sharpens her vampire skills; and Sam uncovers the truth about his birth family. It all leads up to the revelation of the series…...
- 5/23/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
This is the Pure Movies review of Route Irish, directed by Ken Loach and starring Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop, Trevor Williams and Stephen Lord. Written by David Hudson for Pure Movies. Director Ken Loach is known for his politically-charged work, and his latest, Route Irish, is no exception. Fergus (Mark Womack) is a former soldier who has subsequently earned good money working for a private security firm in Iraq. He convinces his best mate Frankie that he too can earn a small fortune by joining the same firm, and is therefore guilt-ridden when Frankie is killed when ambushed on the notoriously dangerous road to Baghdad airport (the ‘Route Irish’ of the title). The film opens with Fergus attending Frankie’s funeral in Liverpool, and joining Frankie’s family in seeking answers about his death from his employers. Pretty quickly, Fergus smells a cover-up and sets out to find...
- 5/22/2011
- by David Hudson
- Pure Movies
Neds; Route Irish; Tangled; Barney's Version; Morning Glory; Get Low
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Peter Mullan's Neds (2010, Entertainment One, 18), a hard-hitting tale of "non-educated delinquents" street-fighting in 70s Glasgow, is just how stylishly cinematic it manages to be. Mullan may have earned his acting spurs working with Ken Loach on the gritty Cannes prize-winner My Name is Joe, but his directorial style here owes more to the colourful choreography of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Boyle's Trainspotting than to any grim social-realist tradition. He is greatly aided by the presence of screen newcomer Conor McCarron who excels as the super-bright schoolkid led astray by a classist slight which turns him against authority and education. It's that crushing sense of wasted youth married with a fearsomely kinetic portrayal of adolescent anarchy which powers the film's infernal combustion engine. Having wrestled with the Catholic church in The Magdalene Sisters,...
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Peter Mullan's Neds (2010, Entertainment One, 18), a hard-hitting tale of "non-educated delinquents" street-fighting in 70s Glasgow, is just how stylishly cinematic it manages to be. Mullan may have earned his acting spurs working with Ken Loach on the gritty Cannes prize-winner My Name is Joe, but his directorial style here owes more to the colourful choreography of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Boyle's Trainspotting than to any grim social-realist tradition. He is greatly aided by the presence of screen newcomer Conor McCarron who excels as the super-bright schoolkid led astray by a classist slight which turns him against authority and education. It's that crushing sense of wasted youth married with a fearsomely kinetic portrayal of adolescent anarchy which powers the film's infernal combustion engine. Having wrestled with the Catholic church in The Magdalene Sisters,...
- 5/21/2011
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Route Irish ***
Stars: Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop | Written by Paul Laverty | Directed by Ken Loach
After his peculiarly upbeat dark comedy Looking For Eric in 2009 (one man’s struggle for inspiration guided by the spirit form of Eric Cantona – much better than it sounds on paper), director Ken Loach returns to familiarly bleak territory with conspiracy drama Route Irish.
Fergus, (Mark Womack) an ex-sas soldier and mercenary returns to Liverpool from his highly lucrative contracting job in Iraq for the funeral of his childhood friend and partner Frankie (John Bishop), who has been killed along Route Irish, the “most dangerous road in the world”, the road from Bagdad airport to the green zone.
Overcome with grief and struggling with the knowledge that his friend as a fellow contractor was in the Bagdad, not for patriotism but simply for money, Fergus is forced to examine his motivations for doing the job.
Stars: Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop | Written by Paul Laverty | Directed by Ken Loach
After his peculiarly upbeat dark comedy Looking For Eric in 2009 (one man’s struggle for inspiration guided by the spirit form of Eric Cantona – much better than it sounds on paper), director Ken Loach returns to familiarly bleak territory with conspiracy drama Route Irish.
Fergus, (Mark Womack) an ex-sas soldier and mercenary returns to Liverpool from his highly lucrative contracting job in Iraq for the funeral of his childhood friend and partner Frankie (John Bishop), who has been killed along Route Irish, the “most dangerous road in the world”, the road from Bagdad airport to the green zone.
Overcome with grief and struggling with the knowledge that his friend as a fellow contractor was in the Bagdad, not for patriotism but simply for money, Fergus is forced to examine his motivations for doing the job.
- 5/21/2011
- by Jez Sands
- Nerdly
Neds
DVD & Blu-ray, Entertainment One
As seen in movies such as Attack The Block and Anuvahood, British cinema's current obsession with painting our youths as less than saintly continues with director Peter Mullan's latest.
Unlike the above titles, this one is set in early-70s Glasgow and attempts to tackle the causes of such wayward behaviour. In confining events mostly to a housing estate and neighbouring school, the consequences of violence are always there, up close, to remind the perpetrators of their actions. Starting off as an impossibly apple-cheeked class swot, John McGill (played as an older boy by Connor McCarron) seems to be the kid with the most potential. We quickly learn he's been plagued with huge negative influences, such as an abusive, alcoholic father (played by Mullan), a big brother who is a legendary local hard man, and the endless turf wars the neighbourhood teens ruck over.
DVD & Blu-ray, Entertainment One
As seen in movies such as Attack The Block and Anuvahood, British cinema's current obsession with painting our youths as less than saintly continues with director Peter Mullan's latest.
Unlike the above titles, this one is set in early-70s Glasgow and attempts to tackle the causes of such wayward behaviour. In confining events mostly to a housing estate and neighbouring school, the consequences of violence are always there, up close, to remind the perpetrators of their actions. Starting off as an impossibly apple-cheeked class swot, John McGill (played as an older boy by Connor McCarron) seems to be the kid with the most potential. We quickly learn he's been plagued with huge negative influences, such as an abusive, alcoholic father (played by Mullan), a big brother who is a legendary local hard man, and the endless turf wars the neighbourhood teens ruck over.
- 5/20/2011
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
To celebrate the May 23rd release of Route Irish, we are giving away a copy of the film on DVD to 5 lucky winners. You can check out our interview with Ken Loach and Mark Womack from the theatrical release right here.
Directed by British film-making legend Ken Loach (Looking For Eric, The Wind that Shakes the Barley), Route Irish is a fast-paced conspiracy thriller that delivers a fresh insight into the moral and political corruption at play in Iraq. As well as exploring the abuses perpetrated by private security firms on the ground in Iraq, Loach, and long time collaborator, screenwriter Paul Laverty (Looking For Eric, My Name is Joe) examine the effects of combat on security contractors – the new ‘soldiers’ of modern warfare – who witness the horrors of combat and are subject to post-combat stress yet receive no support from the state upon their return home.
Fergus (Womack) returns...
Directed by British film-making legend Ken Loach (Looking For Eric, The Wind that Shakes the Barley), Route Irish is a fast-paced conspiracy thriller that delivers a fresh insight into the moral and political corruption at play in Iraq. As well as exploring the abuses perpetrated by private security firms on the ground in Iraq, Loach, and long time collaborator, screenwriter Paul Laverty (Looking For Eric, My Name is Joe) examine the effects of combat on security contractors – the new ‘soldiers’ of modern warfare – who witness the horrors of combat and are subject to post-combat stress yet receive no support from the state upon their return home.
Fergus (Womack) returns...
- 5/17/2011
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Cannes’ official poster this year is an indication of a festival that is more prepared and more thoughtful than last year.
Everything in 2010 seemed like it was last minute. The schedule wasn’t available until a week beforehand, films, like Ken Loach’s Route Irish, were added to the program like late schoolchildren running for the bus, and then there was last year’s poster.
Now I’m as much a fan of Juliette Binoche as the next Francophile but this poster was lifeless and uninspiring. It was as if the festival staff were getting ready to leave Paris for their time in Cannes and someone slapped their head. “Mon Dieu! We forgot to make a poster!” In walked Juliette Binoche, who was picking up her pass for the event and, viola, problem solved. Binoche even looks slightly bored.
This year’s poster is sexy, elegant and sleek; what one.
Everything in 2010 seemed like it was last minute. The schedule wasn’t available until a week beforehand, films, like Ken Loach’s Route Irish, were added to the program like late schoolchildren running for the bus, and then there was last year’s poster.
Now I’m as much a fan of Juliette Binoche as the next Francophile but this poster was lifeless and uninspiring. It was as if the festival staff were getting ready to leave Paris for their time in Cannes and someone slapped their head. “Mon Dieu! We forgot to make a poster!” In walked Juliette Binoche, who was picking up her pass for the event and, viola, problem solved. Binoche even looks slightly bored.
This year’s poster is sexy, elegant and sleek; what one.
- 5/7/2011
- by keithsim
- IMDb Blog - All the Latest
Post Oscars and before Cannes, you could be forgiven for thinking there are no decent films out there, but Source Code and The Lincoln Lawyer prove it's worth getting out in the lull
The arguments that make up Mark Harris's much-linked essay The Day the Movies Died are not unfamiliar, but like a good genre film it's all in the execution. The studios are at an "all-time low", pandering to the unsavoury tastes of adolescent males, reliant on remakes, sequels, prequels, pre-sold properties, pretty much anything that can be cast in plastic and bagged with fast food. Grown-ups can be prised away from their box sets about twice a year, probably in the months around Christmas, by awards-focused marketing campaigns that cost more than the movies they are meant to promote. Hollywood's epitaph, given to Harris by an unnamed exec, is: "We don't tell stories any more."
It's a juicy read,...
The arguments that make up Mark Harris's much-linked essay The Day the Movies Died are not unfamiliar, but like a good genre film it's all in the execution. The studios are at an "all-time low", pandering to the unsavoury tastes of adolescent males, reliant on remakes, sequels, prequels, pre-sold properties, pretty much anything that can be cast in plastic and bagged with fast food. Grown-ups can be prised away from their box sets about twice a year, probably in the months around Christmas, by awards-focused marketing campaigns that cost more than the movies they are meant to promote. Hollywood's epitaph, given to Harris by an unnamed exec, is: "We don't tell stories any more."
It's a juicy read,...
- 4/25/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
In his mid-70s, with a decades-spanning career behind him, director Ken Loach continues to be a strong cinematic voice. His last few films "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," "Looking for Eric" and "Route Irish" commanded solid critical notices and found the helmer's talents still firing on all fronts. And he continues to work at a prolific pace as he's already lined up his next gig. A handful of returning players John Henshaw ("Looking for Eric"), William Ruane ("The Wind That Shakes the Barley"), Gary Maitland ("Sweet Sixteen") and Roger Allam ("Tamara Drewe") and newcomers Paul Brannigan, Siobhan Reilly and…...
- 4/22/2011
- The Playlist
The Sweet Sixteen veteran film-maker is coming back to Glasgow to shoot his new movie The Angel’s Share, a comedy about a ned who makes last try to stay out of prison.
Filming on bittersweet comedy The Angels’ Share is set to start next week. The project re-teaming Ken Loach with Paul Laverty, who previously wrote two scripts for Loach – comedy-drama Looking for Eric (2009) and war-drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006). Loach’s long-time producer, Rebecca O’Brien, will be on board the project as well.
Thesps John Henshaw (Looking for Eric) and William Ruane (The Wind That Shakes the Barley) are familiar to director in the same way. Gary Maitland (Sweet Sixteen) and Roger Allam (Tamara Drewe) will costar, along perspective Scottish talent Paul Brannigan, Siobhan Reilly and Jasmin Riggins.
The story follows a new father who nearly escaped a prison sentence and with the help of...
Filming on bittersweet comedy The Angels’ Share is set to start next week. The project re-teaming Ken Loach with Paul Laverty, who previously wrote two scripts for Loach – comedy-drama Looking for Eric (2009) and war-drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006). Loach’s long-time producer, Rebecca O’Brien, will be on board the project as well.
Thesps John Henshaw (Looking for Eric) and William Ruane (The Wind That Shakes the Barley) are familiar to director in the same way. Gary Maitland (Sweet Sixteen) and Roger Allam (Tamara Drewe) will costar, along perspective Scottish talent Paul Brannigan, Siobhan Reilly and Jasmin Riggins.
The story follows a new father who nearly escaped a prison sentence and with the help of...
- 4/22/2011
- by Nikola Mraovic
- Filmofilia
Kes Quick Thoughts:
Just who is Ken Loach? What are his films about? Why is he so highly regarded? Honestly, I can't answer these questions without any great amount of knowledge, but after watching Criterion's treatment of Loach's second feature film, Kes, I'm beginning to have a greater understanding of the man and why Loach has remained a director appreciated by many since the mid-1960s.
Last year at the Cannes Film Festival I saw my first Ken Loach film, Route Irish. Kes was my second, and considering the British Film Institute named it the seventh best British film of the century my expectations were quite high.
To begin with, you are most likely going to want to turn on the subtitles for this one. The Yorkshire accents are so strong in the opening scene I couldn't understand a word. Things improve as you go along, but the dialect adds to the difficulty.
Just who is Ken Loach? What are his films about? Why is he so highly regarded? Honestly, I can't answer these questions without any great amount of knowledge, but after watching Criterion's treatment of Loach's second feature film, Kes, I'm beginning to have a greater understanding of the man and why Loach has remained a director appreciated by many since the mid-1960s.
Last year at the Cannes Film Festival I saw my first Ken Loach film, Route Irish. Kes was my second, and considering the British Film Institute named it the seventh best British film of the century my expectations were quite high.
To begin with, you are most likely going to want to turn on the subtitles for this one. The Yorkshire accents are so strong in the opening scene I couldn't understand a word. Things improve as you go along, but the dialect adds to the difficulty.
- 4/19/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Ken Loach may be the father of British social-realist cinema but he’s also Dad to Jim Loach, whose debut feature Oranges and Sunshine, opens in UK cinemas on Friday April 1st.
Whether it’s nature or nurture, Loach the younger has inherited his famous Father’s social conscience, choosing to tackle the extraordinary true story of the so called Children of Empire scandal, in which 130,000 children who’d been taken into care during the 50s and 60s were illegally deported from Britain to Australia and turned over to Christian orders where they were suffered systemic abuse, including rape and enforced labour. Amongst the film’s less harrowing revelations are the lies told to children as young as 8. They were told their parents had died and that a lifetime of sandy beaches and fresh fruit awaited them. Their parents were told they’d been adopted and had gone on to better lives.
Whether it’s nature or nurture, Loach the younger has inherited his famous Father’s social conscience, choosing to tackle the extraordinary true story of the so called Children of Empire scandal, in which 130,000 children who’d been taken into care during the 50s and 60s were illegally deported from Britain to Australia and turned over to Christian orders where they were suffered systemic abuse, including rape and enforced labour. Amongst the film’s less harrowing revelations are the lies told to children as young as 8. They were told their parents had died and that a lifetime of sandy beaches and fresh fruit awaited them. Their parents were told they’d been adopted and had gone on to better lives.
- 3/31/2011
- by Ed Whitfield
- Obsessed with Film
A Marine Story
Director: Ned Farr
Written by Ned Far
USA, 2010
Like Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss, A Marine Story casts a highly critical eye over the Us Military’s treatment of its own personnel during the Iraq War. Peirce’s film was about the practice of shipping soldiers back to Iraq against their will — forcing many to live as fugitives. Here the equally controversial “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy has the perverse effect of kicking a decorated officer out of the Marines on the grounds of her sexuality. Well, no one ever said war was fair.
Writer/director Ned Farr’s film stars his wife Dreya Weber as Major Alexandra Everett, who returns to her home town in California in the summer of 2008. Despite her long blonde hair, Alex has the tattoo, the muscle tone and the steely look of a woman who means business. There’s also a wedding ring,...
Director: Ned Farr
Written by Ned Far
USA, 2010
Like Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss, A Marine Story casts a highly critical eye over the Us Military’s treatment of its own personnel during the Iraq War. Peirce’s film was about the practice of shipping soldiers back to Iraq against their will — forcing many to live as fugitives. Here the equally controversial “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy has the perverse effect of kicking a decorated officer out of the Marines on the grounds of her sexuality. Well, no one ever said war was fair.
Writer/director Ned Farr’s film stars his wife Dreya Weber as Major Alexandra Everett, who returns to her home town in California in the summer of 2008. Despite her long blonde hair, Alex has the tattoo, the muscle tone and the steely look of a woman who means business. There’s also a wedding ring,...
- 3/30/2011
- by Susannah
- SoundOnSight
Ken Loach returns to the political arena with the taut, violent Route Irish, a cautionary tale about the privatization of modern war propelled by a riveting, intricately plotted mystery.
Ex-sas private security contractor Fergus (Mark Womack) returns to Liverpool from Iraq to attend the funeral of his friend Frankie (John Bishop) who was killed on ‘Route Irish’, the dangerous road between Baghdad airport and the Green Zone. Fergus doesn’t accept the official story of his death, and discovers that a cell phone camera recording of a horrific shooting incident holds the key to the truth of why Frankie died.
Mark Womack’s Fergus is the ferocious heart of the film, and it is a stunning portrayal of a deeply traumatised man consumed with sorrow and anger over his experiences in Iraq and the loss of his best friend. Fergus channels his pain into a determination to get to the...
Ex-sas private security contractor Fergus (Mark Womack) returns to Liverpool from Iraq to attend the funeral of his friend Frankie (John Bishop) who was killed on ‘Route Irish’, the dangerous road between Baghdad airport and the Green Zone. Fergus doesn’t accept the official story of his death, and discovers that a cell phone camera recording of a horrific shooting incident holds the key to the truth of why Frankie died.
Mark Womack’s Fergus is the ferocious heart of the film, and it is a stunning portrayal of a deeply traumatised man consumed with sorrow and anger over his experiences in Iraq and the loss of his best friend. Fergus channels his pain into a determination to get to the...
- 3/20/2011
- by Ian Gilchrist
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Former paratrooper has co-written The Veteran, a fictional story inspired by the experiences of soldiers returning to civilian life
A former paratrooper who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan has co-written a film exposing the mental wounds and acute desolation endured by many soldiers returning home to civilian life.
Robert Henry Craft, 53, from Broadstairs in Kent, has based the lead character of The Veteran on his own experience of serving on the frontline and "fighting his demons".
The film, which cost £3.1m to shoot, stars 28-year-old Toby Kebbell, a Bafta-nominated actor, and Brian Cox, the Olivier award-winner, who plays an officer in the security services. It is set to spark controversy by focusing on the large number of veterans returning to a life on the streets, or crime and family break-up.
"I had post-traumatic stress disorder and that's from more than 20 years' service," Craft said. His film,...
A former paratrooper who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan has co-written a film exposing the mental wounds and acute desolation endured by many soldiers returning home to civilian life.
Robert Henry Craft, 53, from Broadstairs in Kent, has based the lead character of The Veteran on his own experience of serving on the frontline and "fighting his demons".
The film, which cost £3.1m to shoot, stars 28-year-old Toby Kebbell, a Bafta-nominated actor, and Brian Cox, the Olivier award-winner, who plays an officer in the security services. It is set to spark controversy by focusing on the large number of veterans returning to a life on the streets, or crime and family break-up.
"I had post-traumatic stress disorder and that's from more than 20 years' service," Craft said. His film,...
- 3/20/2011
- by Dalya Alberge
- The Guardian - Film News
Ken Loach brings the horrors of the war in Iraq back home to Liverpool in this gripping conspiracy thriller
All films are political, though most unconsciously so. Along with a handful of others (one thinks of the great Soviet directors of the 1920s, of the Italians Francesco Rosi and Gillo Pontecorvo, of the American John Sayles), Ken Loach is that relatively rare figure, the consciously political film-maker. Only the occasional Loach film lacks some well-considered left-wing agenda, and Route Irish, his response to the war in Iraq, takes up themes he has pursued on several occasions, including crimes committed in the name of the state, the brutalisation of militarism, the exploitation of the demoralised unemployed and the thoughtless ill-treatment of native populations.
Scripted by his regular screenwriter Paul Laverty, Route Irish is a characteristic Loach film, a gripping conspiracy thriller not unlike Hidden Agenda, his film on the Troubles. Quite...
All films are political, though most unconsciously so. Along with a handful of others (one thinks of the great Soviet directors of the 1920s, of the Italians Francesco Rosi and Gillo Pontecorvo, of the American John Sayles), Ken Loach is that relatively rare figure, the consciously political film-maker. Only the occasional Loach film lacks some well-considered left-wing agenda, and Route Irish, his response to the war in Iraq, takes up themes he has pursued on several occasions, including crimes committed in the name of the state, the brutalisation of militarism, the exploitation of the demoralised unemployed and the thoughtless ill-treatment of native populations.
Scripted by his regular screenwriter Paul Laverty, Route Irish is a characteristic Loach film, a gripping conspiracy thriller not unlike Hidden Agenda, his film on the Troubles. Quite...
- 3/20/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
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