Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
I, Daniel Blake
Ken Loach’s powerful, Palme d’Or-winning invective against welfare injustice captured the mood of modern Britain and became his biggest box office success.
Director: Ken Loach
Overview
Ken Loach returned from retirement to deliver this impassioned drama which courted controversy and captured the zeitgeist. Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is a middle-aged carpenter out of work following a heart attack and in need of assistance, but who finds himself unable to navigate the impersonal, impenetrable world of corporatised welfare in 21st-century Britain. Frustrated and abandoned, Daniel befriends single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) in a similar situation. Both are marginalised by society and the government, but their friendship might just help each other get out of their rut.
Ken Loach has spent a distinguished career railing against capitalist indifference, bureaucratic incompetence and burning injustice, but he was supposedly handing over to the next generation following his 2011 film Jimmy’s Hall. Instead he was inspired to make a dramatic return, following the welfare cuts and societal changes that took hold in Britain shortly after his departure. He was rewarded with his second career Palme d’Or (following The Wind that Shakes the Barley) from the judges of the Cannes Film Festival, along with his best ever box office return, for a film that offers a powerful defence of the disenfranchised and a restatement of their right to be heard. I, Daniel Blake was made with the support of the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.
very strong languageRelated
Treading Water Treading Water
Drama 2024 122 mins Director: Gino Evans
A brutal, fascinating portrait of the realities of addiction and mental health issues, set against the backdrop of the iconic Manchester skyline.
I Am Curious - Yellow I Am Curious - Yellow
Drama 1967 117 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjoman's controversial classic following one woman's exploration of national identity and her own sexuality in 1960s Sweden.
I Am Curious - Blue I Am Curious - Blue
Drama 1968 103 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
The compantion film to Vilgot Sjöman's controversial I Am Curious - Yellow continues to follow young Lena on her journey of self-discovery.
Four Mothers Four Mothers
Comedy 2023 89 mins Director: Darren Thornton
Hilarious, uplifting tale of an Irish son juggling four very different mothers over one chaotic weekend in Dublin.
Of Horses and Men Of Horses and Men
Drama 2013 81 mins Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Human romance and a passion for horses intertwine in this wildly beautiful, darkly funny equine tale from Iceland.
Blind Blind
Drama 2013 96 mins Director: Eskil Vogt
A woman’s blindness sharpens her capacity for imagination and fantasy in the Eskil Vogt’s inventive debut.
I Am Love I Am Love
Drama 2009 114 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino
Tilda Swinton and Luca Guadagnino’s sumptuous, operatic vision of an aristocratic family disrupted by unstoppable forces of passion.
Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth
Period drama 2017 89 mins Director: William Oldroyd
Florence Pugh shines in this exceptional British debut of a young wife's need for freedom, whatever the cost.
County Lines County Lines
Drama 2019 90 mins Director: Henry Blake
Blistering thriller of a teen groomed to work for a brutal, organised drugs network.
Naked Naked
Drama 1993 131 mins Director: Mike Leigh
David Thewlis stuns as the motormouth predator of Mike Leigh's divisive masterpiece.
Scrapper Scrapper
Comedy 2023 90 mins Director: Charlotte Regan
A gorgeous and colourful heart-warming gem from Charlotte Regan, one of the best new voices in British film.
All We Imagine as Light All We Imagine as Light
Romance 2024 118 mins Director: Payal Kapadia
Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winning portrait of three women is a transcendent tale of love and sisterhood.
Land and Freedom Land and Freedom
War 1995 105 mins Director: Ken Loach
Ken Loach’s passionate war drama follows an idealistic young Liverpudlian (Ian Hart) who fights for the international brigade during the Spanish Civil War.
Treading Water Treading Water
Drama 2024 122 mins Director: Gino Evans
A brutal, fascinating portrait of the realities of addiction and mental health issues, set against the backdrop of the iconic Manchester skyline.
I Am Curious - Yellow I Am Curious - Yellow
Drama 1967 117 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjoman's controversial classic following one woman's exploration of national identity and her own sexuality in 1960s Sweden.
I Am Curious - Blue I Am Curious - Blue
Drama 1968 103 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
The compantion film to Vilgot Sjöman's controversial I Am Curious - Yellow continues to follow young Lena on her journey of self-discovery.
Last Exit to Brooklyn Last Exit to Brooklyn
Crime 1989 104 mins Director: Uli Edel
Jennifer Jason Leigh stars in the controversial drama about the underbelly of 1950s Brooklyn, from the pen of Hubert Selby Jr (Requiem for a Dream).
Four Mothers Four Mothers
Comedy 2023 89 mins Director: Darren Thornton
Hilarious, uplifting tale of an Irish son juggling four very different mothers over one chaotic weekend in Dublin.
Of Horses and Men Of Horses and Men
Drama 2013 81 mins Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Human romance and a passion for horses intertwine in this wildly beautiful, darkly funny equine tale from Iceland.