I, Daniel Blake
2016
****
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Briana Shann, Dylan McKiernan, Kate Rutter, Sharon Percy, Kema Sikazwe, Steven Richens, Gavin Webster
After suffering a heart attack, Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner from Newcastle, is caught in the clutches of the bureaucratic welfare system. Amidst his struggles, Daniel befriends a young single mother with problems of her own. Ken Loach's fact-based working class drama tells a moving and anger-inducing story about a small guy in a buraucratic hell. Daniel is not allowed to return to work, but he must actively seek employment (which he cannot accept) in order to receive Employment and Support Allowance. The system is cold and inhuman, but the people caught in the middle remain warm, compassionate, and good-humoured.
