Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Land and Freedom
Ken Loach’s passionate war drama follows an idealistic young Liverpudlian (Ian Hart) who fights for the international brigade during the Spanish Civil War.
Director: Ken Loach
Overview
Britain’s foremost social chronicler Ken Loach ventured beyond the UK for this passionate polemic set during the Spanish Civil War. Ian Hart plays David Carne, an idealistic young Liverpudlian who joins the international brigade to fight Franco’s fascists in the 1930s. As David becomes more engaged with his own side’s internecine conflicts than he does on the battlefield, he begins to learn the compromises and necessities of a brutal war.
While Loach may have a reputation as the most British of filmmaking institutions, Land and Freedom was first of three films made towards the end of the 1990s to focus on issues of international socialism. As such is has a more expansive, cinematic feel to many of his films, with its fine period detail and dramatic battle scenes. But the intelligence and intimacy of his best work remains, much of it deriving from Jim Allen’s typically humanistic screenplay. Land and Freedom would be Allen’s last Loach collaboration and final screen credit before his death in 1999; and from that point on Loach established another longstanding writer-director relationship with screenwriter Paul Laverty.
Related
Kajaki: The True Story Kajaki: The True Story
War 2014 108 mins Director: Paul Katis
A unit of British paratroopers in Afghanistan become caught in a minefield, unable to move or help their injured colleagues, in this unbearably tense thriller.
Das Boot Das Boot
War 1981 149 mins Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Devastatingly powerful, tense and claustrophobic war drama about the final mission of a German U-boat, from heroic start to tragic end.
Ashes and Diamonds Ashes and Diamonds
War 1958 99 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda’s best-known, visually remarkable film starring Zbigniew Cybulski.
A Generation A Generation
War 1955 85 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
With gripping set-pieces, Andrzej Wajda’s debut depicts the establishment of a teenage anti-German resistance group.
Kanal Kanal
War 1956 93 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wadja’s clammy and nightmarishly claustrophobic depiction of the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
Eastern Condors Eastern Condors
Crime 1987 98 mins Director: Sammo Hung Kam-bo
A high-kicking tribute to The Dirty Dozen, which sees ten convicts offered amnesty if they undertake a deadly mission behind enemy lines.
Fitzcarraldo Fitzcarraldo
Historical drama 1981 157 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Fitzcarraldo tells the story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, a fortune hunter who dreams of bringing opera to the Peruvian jungle.
The Epic of Everest The Epic of Everest
Non-Fiction 1924 87 mins Director: J.B.L. Noel
Premiere. A breathtaking and poignant account of the valiant 1924 British assault on the awe-inspiring peak, beautifully restored by the BFI.
The Wages of Fear The Wages of Fear
Crime 1953 153 mins Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic, nail-biting suspense thriller won both The Golden Bear and the Palme d'Or in 1953.
The Seventh Seal The Seventh Seal
Fantasy 1957 96 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s best-known film is a brilliant allegorical drama starring Max von Sydow as a knight trying to elude his own death.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Martial arts 2000 120 mins Director: Ang Lee
Ang Lee’s exquisitely choreographed Oscar-winning epic, starring Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang on a quest to recover a stolen sword.
Caligula: The Ultimate Cut Caligula: The Ultimate Cut
Period drama 2023 178 mins Director: Tinto Brass
Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren star in one of the most controversial films in cinema history, presented here in an entirely new cut compiled from the original rushes.
I, Daniel Blake I, Daniel Blake
Drama 2016 100 mins Director: Ken Loach
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.
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.
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
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.
The People vs. Larry Flynt The People vs. Larry Flynt
Biopic 1996 130 mins Director: Milos Forman
Milos Forman’s provocative biopic starring Woody Harrelson as a notorious pornographer turned unlikely hero and champion of free speech.