HARD TIMES
Loach drama ‘Blake’ looks at state’s neglect of those facing poverty
First, Ken Loach retired.
Then last May, just weeks before he turned 80, the British director won the Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s highest prize, with his heartrending drama “I, Daniel Blake,” opening Friday.
Loach, whose career extends back to the early 1960s, seemed amused by this turn of events. From his home in Bath, England, he said, “My ‘retirement’ was only a casual remark when we were making the previous film,” he said.
That was the 2014 Irish historical drama “Jimmy’s Hall.”
“At the time I thought, I can’t go around the circus once more.”
But then came “a contained little story” — “I, Daniel Blake,” a poignant look at two people desperate to get sustenance benefits.
“At Cannes,” Loach figured, “people seemed to understand the story we were telling. It’s common across Europe — I think it’s common in the States as well — where the state is doing its best to trap its citizens so it will have no responsibility for them.”
Loach recalled his first hit, “Cathy Come Home,” a devastating TV documentary about homelessness that shocked 1960s Britain.
“Those were very different times. We still had a welfare state. Of course, things went wrong, but the attitude from the government was quite different. There was a sense we would take care of each other. It was a more generous time.
“Now, with the way the economy and the world has gone, the demands of global capital are so harsh. Here in the U.K., we’ve had massive unemployment since Margaret Thatcher, over 5 million people underemployed, huge levels of poverty.
“The state’s commitment to bringing people out of poverty is really gone. And now the government is trying to shed its responsibilities as quickly as possible. So if you are in trouble and they can avoid paying you anything, they will. That, I guess, is the point of the film.”
Every miserable thing that happens is based on actual incidents.
“It’s all true. We went all over the country meeting people, hearing their stories, and lots of stories are far worse than in the film. We wanted to have two characters who you wouldn’t think of were victims. They’re bright, they’re intelligent. They’re not losers. They’re not addicted to anything. There’s no obvious reason why they should be in this situation.”