Cert 15
Director Ken Loach and his long-time writer Paul Laverty once again turn their gaze onto the policies of austerity and how they have affected ordinary working people in the last decade. Sorry We Missed You focuses on one such Newcastle family, where the father, Ricky, has to work in the ‘gig’ economy as a self employed van driver for a large distribution franchise. His wife, Abby, is an essential worker in the care system on a zero-hours contract: they have two school-age children.
Loach, without any sentimentality, portrays a scenario currently widespread across Britain, where the so-called ‘working poor’ struggle to survive without proper job security. An ensemble cast delivers the naturalistic performances so characteristic of Loach’s narratives.
Dir: Ken Loach, Britain, 91mins, 2019
Continuing our annual tradition of screening a silent classic, with piano accompaniment by Andrew Youdell of the National Film Theatre. We meet in St Nicolas’ Church, Market Place, Abingdon.
This delightful, magical and elegantly choreographed musical, with music by renowned composer Michel Legrand (who died a year ago), tells the story of the beautiful, pregnant and impoverished Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) whose mother owns a local umbrella shop. When Genevieve’s adored suitor, a car mechanic, is posted to Algiers for military service, her mother sets about introducing her to a more suitable, and wealthy, beau.