Looks and Smiles - Ken Loach (1981)
Looks and Smiles - Ken Loach (1981)
A disadvantaged young man tries to get by in Margaret Thatcher's England.
Old Ken apparantly dislikes this film, and views it as a failure because it doesn't/didn't fill the audience with an overpowering political rage at the conditions it presents. I personally see that as it's greatest triumph. This is pure cinema, presenting a time and a place in all its raw honesty. Brimming with character and not bogged down by a need to preach at us, it lets us decide how we want to feel about the state of Sheffield and its young people in 1981; like true cinema should.
Gorgeous cinematography highlights the beauty and grimness of a dwindling industrial cityscape, and unpolished casual performances bring that city life to...life.
Ken's best bar Kes in my opinion.
9/10
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