TRIBUTES AND RETROSPECTIVES
Ken Loach |
Sweet Sixteen
Ken Loach
2002 - United Kingdom / Germany / Spain - 1h46
int. -12 ans
Screenings :
tuesday 23 - 2:00 pm - 400 Coups - 5
friday 26 - 4:45 pm - 400 Coups - 5
In a few days time Liam will be sixteen. His mother Jean, who is in prison, should bereleased in time for her son's birthday. Liam dreams of a family unlike the one hehas always had, and fears the influence of his grandfather, and also of Jean'spartner Stan. He wants a home, a safe place for his mother, his sister Chantelle andhimself. But he still has to find money, and for a penniless teenager, that's no easytask. Liam and his friends come up with a few schemes, but the trouble soon starts...
“The stupidity of the English censors' decision to ban Sweet Sixteen from the under-18s on the grounds that the word ‘fuck' is used more than a hundred times is astonishing. The best part of the film, however, is eminently more subversive, with the message of the American film noirs of the 1930s and 40s that were born out of the Great Depression: when society offers no hope, the only alternative is crime.
In many ways, the hero is reminiscent of Tony Camonte, Howard Hawks' Scarface. He does not get beaten down (there are beautiful scenes of him caring for his sister), he shows uncommon resourcefulness (stealing the drugs from Stan's house, delivering the drugs with the pizzas), he has a childlike joy at every success and is eager to learn from his gangster boss (who doesn't go easy on him, think of the initiation rite with the killing of a local mobster).
What's more, like Scarface, he is the victim of a family neurosis that leads him to neglect his sister's beautiful friend so as to make his mother happy. This nostalgia for an elsewhere, or a past that is finally pure, is embodied in the views of the stars at the beginning, and above all in those of the ever-present sea, overlooked from the caravan he wants to give his mother, from the flat his boss offers him after the caravan gets burnt out, or during his final wanderings when the irremediable has been accomplished.” (Jean-Luc Lacuve; cineclubdecaen.com)
In many ways, the hero is reminiscent of Tony Camonte, Howard Hawks' Scarface. He does not get beaten down (there are beautiful scenes of him caring for his sister), he shows uncommon resourcefulness (stealing the drugs from Stan's house, delivering the drugs with the pizzas), he has a childlike joy at every success and is eager to learn from his gangster boss (who doesn't go easy on him, think of the initiation rite with the killing of a local mobster).
What's more, like Scarface, he is the victim of a family neurosis that leads him to neglect his sister's beautiful friend so as to make his mother happy. This nostalgia for an elsewhere, or a past that is finally pure, is embodied in the views of the stars at the beginning, and above all in those of the ever-present sea, overlooked from the caravan he wants to give his mother, from the flat his boss offers him after the caravan gets burnt out, or during his final wanderings when the irremediable has been accomplished.” (Jean-Luc Lacuve; cineclubdecaen.com)
CAST AND CREW
Cast : Martin Compston, William Ruane, Annmarie Fulton, Michelle Abercromby, Michelle Coulter, Gary McCormack
Screenplay : Paul Laverty
Cinematography : Barry Ackroyd
Editing : Jonathan Morris
Music : George Fenton
Production : Alta Films, BBC Films, Road Movies Filmproduktion, Scottish Screen, Sixteen Films
French distributor : Sixteen Films