I, Daniel Blake is a blunt, dignified and brutally moving film about retirement gone wrong by two-time Palme D’or winner Ken Loach.
Daniel Blake, played by stand-up comic Dave Johns, has been a carpenter all his life, until he suffers a major heart attack and is forced by his doctor to cease working until he recovers. Unashamedly – and perhaps naively – open about his eschewal of work for health reasons, Daniel is deemed a scrounger and told the only way he’ll receive income support is to go against his doctor’s orders, possibly endangering his life. This begins his miserable battle with bureaucracy during which he meets Katie – a well-intentioned single mother of two who is also caught in an unfortunate welfare situation.
Set against the working-class backdrop of Newcastle, England, the film exposes the failings of modern-day British bureaucracy and shines a light on the plight of the common people – people who have been dealt an unwinnable hand but who nonetheless struggle admirably against the tide of life.
For your chance to win a double pass to see I, Daniel Blake, simply email us at [email protected] with your name, phone number, address and an answer to the following question:
Q. Where is the film I, Daniel Blake set?
Entries close 4 November.
I, Daniel Blake will commence screening in cinemas across the country from 17 November. In the meantime, why not watch a trailer of the film?
