(This article was originally published in "Southern People Weekly" in September 2019, and it has been deleted and modified here.)
On July 24, 2019, when Boris Johnson delivered the Prime Minister’s inauguration speech, he promised to end the Brexit dilemma before October 31. Although he has always been regarded as the number one supporter of a "hard Brexit", Boris, who was a few years before the Brexit referendum, is a very pro-European faction.
Boris’ swinging stance on Brexit precisely reflects that neoliberalism, regarded as the norm by the powerful, has swept the world in the past 40 years, stifling potential opposition forces, and consolidating the wealth and voice of the powerful; and Brexit, It was the result of the British people's disappointment in the economic downturn looking for "exports" from the outside world.
Even if Brexit is successful, the promised bright future may not come true. After all, during the three years of Brexit suspicion, low-paying jobs in the UK have increased significantly, social welfare has been drastically reduced, and inflation has always followed suit. Working-class families have to rely on credit cards and loan sharks to maintain their living, struggling on the line of food and clothing. struggle.
In such a social context, the 82-year-old Ken Roach came to the Cannes Film Festival with his new work "Sorry, We Missed You", screaming "We need another world", a world outside of "neoliberalism" .
For 50 years, Ken Roach seems to have been making the same movie, especially after the era of Thatcher, the Conservative Prime Minister dominated by neoliberal ideas, he began to use eruptive creative methods to persistently search for answers—— The struggling working class at the bottom and the individual dilemma in a capitalist society.
Different from the British elements familiar to Chinese people, the British in Ken Rocky's lens—coldness drilled carefully from every gap in the city, and poured evenly on the solitary and silent sky.
Whether it's Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool or Belfast, the iconic sights and elements are all taken away. The ordinary buildings and the ordinary protagonists, together with the simple and cold tones of the movie, weave the ubiquitous in life. Confrontation and despair. A Ken Rocky aesthetic that strives to present "real" and "ordinary" runs through it, as if the tireless Sisyphus is telling everyone by himself-this is Britain!
The old craftsman in "I Am Blake", the problematic youth in "An Angel's One", the construction worker in "Lower Life", the bus driver in "Song of Kara", the skyscraper in "Bread and Rose" Cleaners and security guards... the protagonists in the movie usually have "neighbor value" and have a strong northern accent, but they are kind and innocent. They have love and sympathy in a hard life, and they will treat strangers to strangers. Helping hands will also work hard to lead a dignified life.
Ken Lodge's new work "I'm Sorry, We Missed You" not only continues the director's deep concern for the working class, but also keeps pace with the times and focuses the lens on new problems in British society that have become increasingly acute under the suspicion of Brexit. Of course, thanks to the Internet and globalization, this film can also create a strong emotional resonance for Chinese audiences who are under the pressure of life.
"Sorry, we missed you" is a sentence on the non-delivery notice left by the British courier to the customer. (In the UK, if the recipient is not at home, the courier will leave the card with this sentence in the mailbox or stick it on the door.) And this also names the protagonist’s occupation.
The father Ricky in the film comes from Manchester, the hometown of the Industrial Revolution. He was originally a hardworking construction worker, but was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 and was unable to continue to borrow money to buy a house. After finally getting a job "being my own boss", I had to "bring a car to apply for a job" and abide by various "unequal treaties."
Mother Abby is a carer. In order to be able to buy a truck for her husband, she had to choose to sell the car that was used for commuting. Nursing work is hard and cumbersome, but now I have to travel by bus to and from each client every day, and I am exhausted physically and mentally.
In order to repay the truck loan as soon as possible, father Ricky desperately 796 every day , and even had no time to go to the toilet halfway, and there was nowhere to put urine and emotions. Mother Abby is also a zero-hour contact, and she does not stop from morning to night, and will receive unexpected calls from customers on weekends and evenings.
The 996 that domestic young people have heard about it is not what bothers them the most. Rigid and rigid rules and regulations, strange characters that are constantly emerging, and the absence of safety guarantees... are all daily life. As a result, Manchester United fan Ricky could not help but quarrel when faced with the provocation of local Newcastle fans; even if Abby was patient and gentle and treated his customers as family members, he would suddenly burst into tears at the bus station.
The brothers and sisters in the family have become “left-behind children” in the city. The adolescent brother Seb couldn't find the meaning of continuing to study. And when he got into trouble, the whole family also fell into the dilemma that the family and work are difficult to balance and even antagonize.
Contrary to her brother, sister Liza not only accompanies her father to deliver express delivery on weekends, but also tries to bridge the tense relationship between her brother and father. She is well-behaved and sensible, becoming a kind of breath of repressed life, a touch of sun in the gloomy tone.
Different from the previous Ken Rocky movies, the protagonist has a complete family of four, but he has been exploited to perfection by the "gig economy" of the Internet age. The so-called gig economy ( gig economy ) refers to an economic field composed of freelancers. People use the Internet and mobile technology to quickly match supply and demand sides, and work/recruit people on demand.
As the first time in human history to break the "employment" model formed since the industrial age, the dual system of traditional labor-management relations seems to be beginning to break, and the zero-sum game gradually gives way to people-oriented —laborers can freely allocate time and resources to achieve a higher individual Value; while the recruitment of enterprises has become more flexible and convenient.
New business models brought about by new technologies have led to an increase in the number of global gig workers. According to a BBC report, in the UK, the number of freelancers in the gig economy has increased to 5 million, almost close to the number of people working in the public sector. According to a report from the Ali Research Institute, by 2036, as many as 400 million people in China may be freelancers in the gig economy.
On the surface, the gig economy has a blockchain-style open and pluralistic spirit, which provides more choices for individuals. In the actual operation process, this flexible employment method in the name of “self-employment” has turned into a more covert and cruel form of exploitation—not only evading the employment contract issue under the protection of the labor law, but also Working-class workers do not receive the most basic protection of labor rights (such as minimum wages, pensions, holidays and maternity leave), and they have also formulated a tedious reward and punishment system to blur the line between life and work.
Because of this, Ricky and Abby in the movie are always overworked. Ricky, in particular, has almost no time to accompany his children. Even at home, he often releases the negative energy accumulated at work, and family conflicts are ignited. "Sorry, we missed you" also has a second meaning-family members ignore each other .
Even so, at the end of the movie-Ricky still drove the truck in chaos. If the young people in "Guessing the Train" can still say "I chose not to choose life" even if they are confused, then Ricky, who is in his middle age, lacks the right to "choose".
The high debts and the responsibility of supporting the family make him inexorably enter the middle-aged. And this echoes with Ricky filling out the form at the beginning of the movie to buy a truck to join the courier company. It seems to reveal the "destiny" of this British working family-the more you want to get rid of the hardships of life and work hard, the easier it is to sink into the quagmire of misfortune. .
This is inevitably reminiscent of the Italian neo-realist movie "The Bike Stealer"-the whole family has a good vision, thinking that buying a car can improve their lives, but never expects to embark on a "definite loop" of "the harder you work, the more misfortune" ".
Accidents, large and small, inside and outside the family followed one after another, seemingly coincidental and destined. Even if it is full of dramatic colors, the simple editing with a large number of medium and close-range shots still makes people feel more real. And the angle design of the indoor lens is a subtle expression of the suppression of "the fight between the trapped beasts".
I don't know if it is due to the director's age relationship, "Sorry" has a softer texture than previous works. Especially under the cruel realities of various violent attacks, while family members are constantly consuming each other's feelings, they also confirm that each other's preciousness is a real kind of mutual affection. Although it is sensational, it is not too much. On the contrary, it is like encountering heating in a winter city in the north of England, and it has an unsympathetic warmth.
In Ken Lodge's film, we are able to face up to those groups that are gradually invisible and disappearing on the big screen. Therefore, "Sorry, We Missed You" has a deeper meaning-a response to the neglect and neglect of the low-level and marginal figures by the society .
As early as 1966, Ken Roach told a story about the homeless in Cathy Came Home . At that time, the treatment of homeless families was no different from the era of the Poverty Relief Law-mothers and children were sent to intimidating dormitories, while fathers were left to earn a living. These families rarely receive proper help or resettlement, and society allows them to fall apart.
After the broadcast of "Casey Going Home", it caused a great uproar in the society. After ten years of preparation and hard work, with the joint efforts of organizations headed by "crisis" and "shelter", the " British Housing Act of 1977 " came out. The bill is the first attempt to provide a permanent housing solution for the homeless and establishes the housing rights of specific groups as legal rights. This is an unprecedented and unique attempt in the entire Western world.
Watching Ken Rocky's movies, I can't help but feel sigh-the group caring under his lens may never see such a movie. Suppose they walk into a movie theater, maybe they just want to watch a light-hearted popcorn movie; for them, a movie like "I'm Sorry" might cause discomfort due to being too real?
However, the above assumption may just fall into the vicious circle of stereotypes (for the bottom or marginal groups). In fact, each of you and me may have experienced a Ken Rocky moment in life. In "I Am Black", Black, who suffers from a heart disease, sprays his name on the wall with a stubborn back; in "The Kid and the Eagle", the lonely Billy confides his dissatisfaction with the social status of the education system... Every act of venting also completes the shouting and questioning of life for the audience.
Perhaps, for Ken Lodge's work, time is the best filter. Several years later, when we look back at the various works of this "fighter", we will definitely thank him for recording the hard work and joy of these little people who will eventually be marginalized for half a century.
In this era when "realism" has become a synonym for backwardness, the only certainty is that society needs Ken Rocky's movies, and we need to listen to different voices.
Just revisiting "The Taste of Honey" and "One Night's Love Hate Everything" produced in the early 1960s, these great works of British kitchen sinks, you will find that they are different from the preaching films in the impression of everyone, but are flowing with humor. , Wisdom and Foresight.
bibliography:
"Gig Economy" Diana Marcash
"Ten Lectures on Social Policy" by Hartley Dean
"The Unspoken Rules of British Words and Deeds" Kate Fox
"The Powerful: How They Get Away" by Irving Jones
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