TRIBUTES AND RETROSPECTIVES
Ken Loach |
© Diaphana
Raining Stones
Ken Loach
1993 - United Kingdom - 1h30
Screenings :
thursday 25 - 10:15 am - Grand Théâtre - presented by the film directors
sunday 28 - 8:30 pm - Grand Théâtre
Bob and Tommy have just stolen a sheep, which they hope to sell off at a goodprice. But they make very little of it. To top off their miserable trip, Bob's van getsstolen. Distraught, he goes back to his flat in Manchester, where his wife Anne,daughter Coleen, and the ups and downs of his humdrum unemployed life await him.But Bob, being the devout Catholic that he is – even if he is a little forgetful of theCommandments, particularly those relating to modesty and property – has sworn tohimself that Coleen will have the most beautiful dress there is for her firstcommunion, even though his wife tries to reason with him, even though he has tobecome a bouncer at a nightclub or have his debts bought back by a crook, who hewill then have to get rid of...
“Bob Williams lives off unemployment benefit and odd jobs of dubious legality. Out of pride, he wants to buy his daughter a beautiful (and expensive) first communion dress: his search for unfindable money is intertwined with a search for the meaning of life and values. From the sheep they fail to slaughter in the film's opening scene to Bob's daughter's communion at its close, the Christian world is used to give a political meaning. The Catholic priest understands Bob and will forgive him for the manslaughter he has committed. Once again it is the man, and not the religion he represents, that is glorified here: going beyond dogma to return to the human, to rediscover the essential values that make up a social group. Mutual aid, friendship and respect are also conveyed throughout the film.
“Once again, the political message is unspoken, and the political sphere exists off screen. The only visible politician is a Labour MP, who we only see leaving the social housing association: symbolically, he is turning his back on the charity that helps the most disadvantaged. (...) What interests him is humankind, with all its faults, qualities and values. (...) Raining Stones expresses the despair of a section of society that is forgotten and denigrated, riddled with debt and with no way out, except for ones that obviously lead nowhere: begging the loan shark who takes advantage of people's distress or stealing a lawn from the local Conservative club. Whatever the means, the only thing that matters is paying the bills, a theme already present in Riff-Raff (1990) and Looks and Smiles (1981). Alongside Loach, Mike Leigh developed the same approach in High Hopes (1988).” (Lionel Hurtez; Critikat)
“Once again, the political message is unspoken, and the political sphere exists off screen. The only visible politician is a Labour MP, who we only see leaving the social housing association: symbolically, he is turning his back on the charity that helps the most disadvantaged. (...) What interests him is humankind, with all its faults, qualities and values. (...) Raining Stones expresses the despair of a section of society that is forgotten and denigrated, riddled with debt and with no way out, except for ones that obviously lead nowhere: begging the loan shark who takes advantage of people's distress or stealing a lawn from the local Conservative club. Whatever the means, the only thing that matters is paying the bills, a theme already present in Riff-Raff (1990) and Looks and Smiles (1981). Alongside Loach, Mike Leigh developed the same approach in High Hopes (1988).” (Lionel Hurtez; Critikat)
CAST AND CREW
Cast : Bruce Jones, Julie Brown, Gemma Phoenix, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Hickey, Mike Fallon
Screenplay : Jim Allen
Cinematography : Barry Ackroyd
Editing : Jonathan Morris
Music : Stewart Copeland
Production : Channel Four Films, Parallax Pictures
French distributor : Diaphana