Ken Loach, "Raining Stones", 1993 - une réaffirmation de la dimension critique du réalisme

Résumé du document

Raining stones takes place in Middleton, on the outskirts of Manchester. This Ken Loach's film tells the story of a man, Bob, who wants to buy a dress for his daughter's first Communion, in spite of his poverty, his unemployment and difficulties to pay his bills and even his wife disapprobation. This dress is more than an object for him, it is a symbol. According to Allan Carll, Ken Loach's movies are « a reaffirmation of the critical dimension of realism »: to what extent do you consider that this statement can be applied to "Raining Stones"?

Extraits

[...] Sight and Sound, v4, n5 (ay 1994) and n11 (November 1994). Cineast, v 24, n1, (winter 1998). [...]

[...] Above all, Loach is one again in a position to make films wich “give a voice to those who are often denied and which resolutely refuse to remain neatly within the domain of aesthetic judgement alone. Loach consitently locates Raining Stones in contemporary settings which are a forcefull and consistent reminder of the actual conditions of the English working class, potentially at least, known to his audiences. Central characters are marginalised, they are emblematic figures representative of their class, race, gender and economic and social positions and they are in conflict with dominant social institutions which are the real antagonist in the story. [...]

[...] Ken Loach, "Raining Stones" - une réaffirmation de la dimension critique du réalisme A According to Allan Carll, Ken Loach's movies are a reaffirmation of the critical dimension of realism To what extent do you consider that this statement can be applied to : Raining Stones Raining stones takes place in Middleton, on the outskirts of Manchester. This Ken Loach's film tells the story of a man, Bob, who wants to buy a dress for his daughter's first Communion, in spite of his poverty, his unemployment and difficulties to pay his bills and even his wife disapprobation. [...]

[...] Italian neorealism is a film movement which started in 1943 with Ossessione (Luchino Visconbti) and ended in 1952 with Umberto D (De Sica). The movement is characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed in long takes on location, frequently using non-actors for secondary and sometimes primary roles. Italian neorealist films mostly contend with the difficult economical and moral conditions of postwar Italy, reflecting the changes in the Italian psyche and the conditions of everyday life: defeat, poverty, and desperation. Films were mostly shot outdoors, amidst devastation. The neorealists were heavily influenced by French poetic realism. [...]

[...] We can place Loach in terms of contemporary history of british film and TV production. The election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in may 1979 marks a major turning-point in postwar british history : unemployement rose from 1,25 million in 1978 to 2,67 in 1982, the Big Bang deregulation of the London stock market in 1986 was followed by a dramatic collapse of share price in October 1987, which began to underwining of belief in the benefical effets of the rise of the “yuppies” and a fast rise in house prices. [...]