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Sorry We Missed You: When the Work Ethic Doesn’t Work

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“I’ve got to go to work. I have not got a choice.”

We are told that if we work hard, we will find success. For many the “gig economy” seems to be the way they can take control of their lives and find the financial success they need. Ken Loach’s film Sorry We Missed You provides a much darker view. What started off as great hope of a brighter future devolves into a world of desperation.

Ricky (Kris Hitchen) has bounced between jobs since the 2008 economic downturn. He had been in construction. As the film opens, he is interviewing for a job as a delivery driver. It seems exactly what he wants. He will be his own boss, he is told. He won’t be paid wages, he’ll get fees. With hard work he can begin to bring home enough money to get his family back in their own home. But to really make money, he’ll need his own van.

His wife Abby (Debbie Honeywood) is a home health aid. She has a car she uses to go from client to client. But to get Ricky a van, they sell her car, making her rely on buses to make her appointments. The two of them put in long hours—12 to 14 hours a day. Meanwhile their children, sixteen year-old Seb (Rhys Stone) and tweener Liza Jane (Katie Proctor) try to get by. Seb is dark and brooding. He cuts school and paints graffiti. He knows how to push Ricky’s buttons—and does so frequently. Liza Jane strives to be a peacemaker in the home, but what a burden that can be.

When problems arise, Ricky discovers that the “self-employment” he thought his job entailed was really an illusion. There is no flexibility. He must be there every day, or arrange for a replacement. Not doing so results in not just lost pay, but a £100/day fine. Abby also has little flexibility, in part because she is compassionate and caring. When she must do extra work, it is not compensated. As the stresses of work and within the family continue to grow and compound on each other, the characters find themselves in a spiral of despair.

The film is set in Newcastle, as was Loach’s previous film I, Daniel Blake (which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes). It is not a sequel, but could well be seen as a companion piece. Both deal with the trials of the working class trying to get by in an economy that doesn’t care about people, but about bottom lines. Whereas I, Daniel Blake deals with the working-class struggle with a good dose of humor and eventually shows the power of the human spirit in midst of a soul-deadening bureaucracy, Sorry We Missed You is much darker and pessimistic. As the hope that drives Ricky to start this new job slowly evaporates, the stresses on everyone in the family may destroy their loving relationships. And the film does not allow us to walk away with a sense that things will get better.

This is meant to be a troubling film. It calls into question some of the foundational beliefs of our society. As we watch Ricky and Abby work long hours in hope of achieving some financial improvement, we discover that the supposed promise of the work ethic is deceptive. They not only fail to gain on their goals, they become deeper and deeper in debt. That debt is not only financial, but also emotional and spiritual. The work ethic that we see in play here does not elevate workers, but erodes their dignity and threatens their humanity.

Note: This film comes with subtitles, even though it is in the English language. The Northern England dialect can be difficult to understand, so the subtitles are very welcome.

Photos courtesy of Zeitgeist Films in Association with Kino Lorber

Oscar-Nominated Short Documentaries

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When it is time to award the best in films each year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences include three categories of short films in their Oscar presentations. Most people don’t get to see many shorts. They play at festivals, and occasionally in front of a feature film. But short films are an art form worth attention. Many (probably most) feature filmmakers started out making short film. To tell a story in such a brief format takes skill. All the Oscar-nominated short films will be playing in theaters in special programs. To see where the films will be playing near you, go to https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/theatrical-release/

Here is a look at the five Oscar-nominated short documentaries.

In Black Sheep (UK, 27 minutes, directed by Ed Perkins) a family of Nigerian immigrants moves out of London after another Nigerian boy is killed. Eleven year old Cornelius then discovers their new home is full of violent racists as well. After being beaten, he decides to become more like those who attacked him. He wears blue contact lenses and bleaches his skin. Soon he is accepted by the others, but then he is now part of the violence against blacks. How can he be true to his real identity? The film is told by a now adult Cornelius. His reflections are engrossing as he describes what he became at that time.

My reaction: Something about this film stirred something within me. I could not imagine someone becoming the very thing that injured him, especially to the extent that he did so. I had to take a walk after screening this film to try to clear that imagery and the emotions it brought up for me. That is the power this film held for me.

“We don’t run away from hard stuff. We don’t run away from suffering.” In End Game (USA, 40 minutes, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman) we go inside two San Francisco institutions that care for the dying: UCSF Medical Center’s Palliative Care Team and the Zen Hospice Project. This is not just a story of hospice care, it shows some of the difficult decisions patients and families face and we hear them and the doctor and other professionals working through those decisions.

My reaction: This is indeed about facing the hard stuff. With death no longer a remote possibility, patients and families often struggle with how they want to spend those last months, weeks, days. The filmmakers treated these stories with respect and compassion. I’m especially grateful for the patients and families that were willing to allow this film to show this most difficult, emotional, and intimate time. This is my favorite among the nominees. End Game is a Netflix film and is currently available to stream.

Lifeboat (USA, 34 minutes, directed by Skye Fitzgerald) focuses on the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean by going with volunteers from the German non-profit Sea-Watch to search for and rescue boatloads of African refugees. In the film they encounter boats filled with about 1000 refugees—boats with no water or power. These are people who have been terribly exploited and are further exploited by the traffickers who have set them adrift. It is not a simple task to rescue them in an orderly fashion. But it is an act of great humanity and compassion. As one of them notes, when you see a crisis at a distance, you see a mass of people. When you get close, you see individuals.

My reaction: A note at the end of the film tells us that 1 out of 18 people who attempt to cross the Mediterranean will drown. When we hear about immigration crises, we often think in terms of the mass of people. (And some would encourage us to fear that mass.) This film reminds us that the crisis is about people who often see the possibility of drowning as preferable to the atrocities of the lives they are trying to escape. Each person—each individual—is a beloved child of God. We should learn to treat them as such.

Patriotism is front and center in A Night at the Garden (USA, 7 minutes, directed by Marshall Curry).  It shows archival footage of a “Pro American Rally” held at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1039. There were American flags, a huge portrait of George Washington, many Brown Shirts, and Nazi salutes. Just seven months before the start of World War II, 20,000 Nazi supporters were making the case that Americans should support Hitler’s policies. The antisemitism of this group is obvious when we hear speakers. It serves as a reminder that America has often had those who do not accept the diversity that has made the country what it is.

My reaction: A little bit of background would have been helpful. When we hear speakers in the footage, they are always speaking with an accent. This particular rally was held by the German-American Bund. It was a wide-spread movement, but never a particularly large group. But since white supremacy has been become more visible in recent years, it’s worth noting that it has been with us a very long time. That is not to say we should tolerate it, but rather to be sure not to treat it as passing fad.

Girls in India may not have access to what we would think of as basic supplies for menstruation. Period. End of Sentence. (USA, 26 minutes, directed by Rayka Zehtabchi) shows us the dilemma this causes in rural areas, where sometimes girls are shamed to the point of quitting school. The answer put forward here is a machine that allows women in such areas to manufacture and sell inexpensive pads made from local materials. In the process, it provides employment and empowerment for the women involved.

My reaction: First World people often can’t imagine that something like menstruation could create such issues. But when ignorance about such a normal thing (which we see early in the film) exists, it will inevitably cause problems for those who have the least power to fight against it. It is interesting to see something as commonplace (for us) as a menstrual pad to be able to bring such change to lives.

The Escape – Wife and Mother Want Out

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When a woman abandons her family, how are we to understand her? In Dominic Savage’s The Escape, we may be tempted to be judgmental. We may ask if being unhappy is enough of a reason in itself to destroy her family. We may look down at her—or perhaps we may ponder what it is about modern life that brings this unhappiness.

Tara (Gemma Arterton) is a housewife and mother in a London suburb. It’s not a bad life. She has a loving family. There is no cruelty. Her husband (Dominic Cooper) may be a bit self-absorbed and is certainly a selfish lover, but he has provided well for the family. Hers is a life of routine. But she wants something more. One day she makes a bold decision. She grabs her passport and buys a one-way ticket to Paris to seek a new life.

Fifty years ago we might have dismissively referred to Tara as a bored housewife. (I’m sure there are still those who would characterize her in that way.) Twenty years ago, we might have just sighed, “Give her some Prozac.” (Maybe that might not be a bad idea.) But those ways of looking at Tara’s story are essentially judging her without really understanding the forces at work in her.

But this is not a story that seems outlandish. Even women who seem to have a good life often feel unfulfilled. Society has crafted women’s roles that promise happiness, but often don’t deliver on that promise. Being a wife and mother may be important positions within a family, but must a woman bury her own needs and ambitions in the process of fulfilling those roles?

I have to admit that I’m a bit torn in my assessment of Tara in this film. I will grant that often women find themselves in lives that do not provide them with the kinds of stimulation that men would find necessary for happiness. The soul can suffocate within the routines of life that only provide joy for others and never for self. And I think Tara, for all the trappings of the good life, has found herself in such a position.

But there is also room for judgment in how she has chosen to deal with that. And the film puts that judgment in Tara’s own mouth. As she wanders Paris, she gets involved with a flirtatious relationship with Philippe (Jalil Lespert). As the day progresses, they identify that they are both free from commitments and eventually spend the night together. In the morning, Tara discovers that Philippe is married with a family. She says to him, “It’s wrong what you did.” And yet Philippe did nothing that Tara herself was not doing. Yet she seems to miss that she is guilty of the same sins.

The ambivalence the film creates in the viewer may provide us room to think differently about the way women fulfill the roles that they have been assigned. It may also give us a bit more sympathy for those who make choices we may not approve of.

Photos courtesy of IFC Films

Finding Your Feet – Never Too Late for a New Beginning

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It’s never too late to find a new outlook on life and love, at least that is what Finding Your Feet tells us. On the surface, this looks like a date night movie for the Leisure World set. But the wisdom the film imparts can be absorbed by people of any age.

Lady Sandra Abbott’s (Imelda Staunton) life looks rosy. Her husband is retiring from the police where he has risen to Commissioner and received a knighthood. They will have the time to enjoy life and travel. But at his retirement party, she discovers he has been having an affair with her best friend for the last five years. She goes to the only person she can think of, her estranged sister Bif (Celia Imrie) who lives a free-spirited life in public housing. The Odd Couple contrast between the up-tight and proper Sandra and her colorful sister makes for some difficult times, but of course, their time together will be healing for them both.

Sandra isn’t very fond of Bif’s friends, but when she begins to go with her to a community dance class for seniors, she begins to lighten up. When she begins to warm to the working-class Charlie (Timothy Spall), the film shifts into romcom mode, which often works well with people of a certain age, as it does here.

As one who is old enough to live in a retirement community, I can appreciate watching people of this age dealing with the struggles of falling in love at this point in life. I also appreciate the age-specific issues that provide the complications: including cancer, dementia, and grief. But although the film reflects issues that affect seniors more than younger people, in the end what it teaches is applicable for everyone.

This is a story of second chances. Not so much about giving people a second chance as much as being willing to take the risk to find a second chance. Sandra’s life, as rosy as it seemed at the beginning, quickly fell apart. Many of the friends she meets in her new world are all dealing with struggles of one sort or another. Yet as they come together to dance from week to week, they find something new in their lives. They get the opportunity to live with joy, even when there is darkness all around them.

Perhaps what makes this age group so appropriate for a film like this is not that seniors are more likely to face having to start over.  Rather, by the time you reach this age, you may look back and understand that life is filled with these new beginnings. Therein lies the wisdom of the film. It teaches us, no matter our age, that change can bring joy yet again.

Photos courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Ethel & Ernest – Extraordinary Ordinariness

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“There was nothing extraordinary about my Mum and Dad. Nothing dramatic. . .. But they were my parents and I wanted to remember them by doing a picture book.”

British author and illustrator Raymond Briggs told his parent’s very ordinary story in a graphic novel, Ethel & Ernest, which has now been made into an animated film. The film is as simple and unassuming as the two people at its heart. And that is where the emotional power of the film comes from—just seeing the story of people who lived their lives, as nearly all of us do, without fanfare, but still find happiness and love.

Ernest (Jim Broadbent) is a milkman who is both affable and outgoing. Ethel (Brenda Blethyn) was serving as a maid when she met Ernest, and having learned upper-class manners never likes to think of the family as working class. They have very different outlooks. Ernest, a socialist, favors the Labour Party; Ethel supports the Tories. They needle each other about this through the years. Ernest is always up-to-date on world affairs; Ethel usually looks no further than the family needs.

Although the Briggses are very typical, the times they lived in were certainly dramatic. They have a chance meeting in 1928, which leads to courtship, marriage, family. They live through the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war social shift and spreading affluence. They died within months of each other in 1971. The film leads us through this history, but it is always focused on the love and relationship that gave meaning to their lives. Even when they have a child, the real focus of the film is the relationship of Ernest and Ethel. (After all, it is that child who created the story. He is intent on celebrating these two loving people and has managed to keep himself a minor character in their story.)

When I got the promotion about this film, I thought it sounded like an animated “Masterpiece Theatre”. And it would be a good fit for that PBS series. But unlike the cultural voyeurism of Downton Abbey, Ethel & Ernest is very much the story of everyday people. It is the story of the people who are around us. It is the story of us. Raymond Briggs did not tell their story because they led extraordinary or dramatic lives, but because of the love they shared with each other and with him. That may seem ordinary, but in reality it is the most extraordinary kind of life.

Photos courtesy Ethel & Ernest Productions

AFIFest – Easier Than a Trip to Cannes

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We don’t all get to go to Cannes for what may be considered the most prestigious film festival. I know I don’t make it there. But yesterday at AFIFest  (presented by Audi), I managed to see three films that all won awards at Cannes this year. And I didn’t have to pay for airfare and a hotel room.

daniel-blake

Ken Loach won his second Palme d’Or for I, Daniel Blake. (His first was for The Wind that Shakes the Barley in 2006.)  Loach’s films offer social criticism focusing on everyday people struggling with the issues of life. Daniel Blake is a carpenter who is off work because of a heart attack. Although his doctor says he can’t work, the bureaucracy had deemed him fit for work and has cut off his disability. He can, however, apply for job seekers’ assistance. As he deals with the heartless bureaucracy that is more concerned with the rules and procedures than actually helping people, he meets a young single mother trying to raise two children in the same system. This is a film about caring and non-caring. It is a reminder that those with financial struggles are people who deserve respect and compassion. The film will be in theaters around Christmas. Look for a fuller review then.

only-end-of-world

The Iranian film The Salesman won the awards for Best Screenplay (Asghar Farhadi) and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini) at Cannes. Farhadi’s films often deal with the relationship between a husband and wife. In The Salesman Emad and Rana are both actors who are in a production of Death of a Salesman. After Rana is attacked in their apartment, their relationship is under stress as Emad is out for revenge and Rana is feeling vulnerable and wanting everything to go away. Questions of vengeance and mercy play out—mostly by looking at how those choices affect Emad and Rana. The Salesman is Iran’s official Oscar entry.

salesman

The Grand Prix is the second most prestigious award at Cannes. This year it went to the Canadian film It’s Only the End of the World. Louis is a playwright who left his home twelve years ago and is coming back for a visit. He tells us at the beginning of the film that this is a “journey to announce my death.” When he arrives at his mother’s home, his sister, brother and sister-in-law are all there. We soon discover that this is a family that defines itself by bickering with one another. Their times together are often uncomfortable. Louis has various one-on-one scenes with each of the others, but we know that these are people we wouldn’t want to be around any more than Louis has the last twelve years. At the same time, what role does Louis’s leaving have to do with the feelings that have developed in the family? It seems his return only serves as a catalyst to further exacerbate the fragile situation. It’s Only the End of the World is Canada’s official Oscar entry.

Photos provided by AFIFest presented by Audi