TRIBUTES AND RETROSPECTIVES
Ken Loach |
© Le Pacte
Sorry We Missed You
Ken Loach
2019 - United Kingdom / France / Belgium - 1h41
Screenings :
tuesday 23 - 4:45 pm - Grand Théâtre
friday 26 - 10:00 am - Centre de congrès - Auditorium
Ricky, Abby and their two children live in Newcastle. Their family is close-knit and the parents work hard. While Abby works devotedly as a home help for elderly people, Ricky takes up one low-paid job after another. They realise that a real opportunity seems to be opening up for them thanks to the digital revolution, so Abby sells her car so that Ricky can buy a van and become a self-employed delivery driver. But the excesses of this new modern world will have major repercussions for the whole family...
“After I, Daniel Blake (2016), which portrayed the struggle of a heart-attack victim grappling with illegible and guilt-inducing social welfare systems, Sorry We Missed You tackles the phenomenon known as the “uberisation of work”, and the use of new digital tools. This system is well known for its pernicious sleight of hand, which consists of disguising the employee as a “self-employed” person who can then be exploited at will, with them having to take on the risks and charges of their own activity, and thus actually contributing to their own exploitation. To unravel the inner workings of this system, Loach and his screenwriter Paul Laverty, once again take the path of a documented chronicle, fully embracing its didactic form, a formula that has become something of a trademark for them. (...) Sorry We Missed You is worth seeing above all for the clarity and precision of its observation of the Faustian pact that these new forms of work have taken, governed by misleading language (the term ‘work' is replaced by ‘mission') and software that strives to remove any human dimension.” (Mathieu Macheret; Le Monde).
“Loach's other favourite subject is youth, and this is evident in his portrayal of the chaotic relationship between Ricky and Seb, his 16-year-old son. In the midst of a teenage crisis, the boy shakes very foundations of the family. The main issue of the film is to question whether the difficulties experienced by the Turners are really the consequences of the economic insecurity they face. The fact that their internal conflicts often stem from the behaviour of their son, who feels neglected, means that their financial difficulties ultimately act as a glue that binds their solidarity. In his own way, Ken Loach shows us that even if ultraliberalism has made the labour market even more restrictive, the priority must remain the family, which is an element that is much more difficult to manage than it might seem.” (Julien Dugois; aVoir-aLire.com)
“Loach's other favourite subject is youth, and this is evident in his portrayal of the chaotic relationship between Ricky and Seb, his 16-year-old son. In the midst of a teenage crisis, the boy shakes very foundations of the family. The main issue of the film is to question whether the difficulties experienced by the Turners are really the consequences of the economic insecurity they face. The fact that their internal conflicts often stem from the behaviour of their son, who feels neglected, means that their financial difficulties ultimately act as a glue that binds their solidarity. In his own way, Ken Loach shows us that even if ultraliberalism has made the labour market even more restrictive, the priority must remain the family, which is an element that is much more difficult to manage than it might seem.” (Julien Dugois; aVoir-aLire.com)
CAST AND CREW
Cast : Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Mcgowan, Katie Proctor, Ross Brewster
Screenplay : Paul Laverty
Cinematography : Robbie Ryan
Editing : Jonathan Morris
Music : George Fenton
Production : Sixteen Films
French distributor : Le Pacte