Cannes Director Spotlight: Ken Loach

Ken Loach
New Film: The Angel's Share
Country: UK
Age: 75
Best Known for: His decades-long career making realistic films that deal with social issues and the working class

Cannes History
He's the King of the Croisette. Loach has taken a whopping 13 films to the festival. He's won a number of Jury prizes over the years, as well as the 2006 Palme d'Or for The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

His Resume
Loach is the second oldest director in the Competition (behind only 89-year-old Alain Resnais). He began making movies with 1967's Poor Cow, but he's better known (perhaps best known) for his sophomore effort, Kes, the story of an abused young boy who finds meaning in caring for his pet falcon.

As the years went by, Loach's films became more and more political. His Palme winner was about two brothers fighting for Irish independence in the 1920s, and his last film, Route Irish, chronicled a private contractor in Iraq's search for truth after the death of his best friend. Between Kes and Route Irish, he made films about maids trying to unionize (Bread and Roses, 2000) and a woman trying to keep her kids out of the custody of social services (Ladybird Ladybird), among others.

Because Loach's films generally follow "unremarkable" individuals, his filmmaking style is appropriately low-key. Though many scenes appear improvised, it's only because Loach typically casts unknowns or non-professionals in key roles. He's written only a handful of his films; His primary screenwriting collaborator, at least over the past decade or so, has been Paul Laverty. Other frequent collaborators include cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, editor Jonathan Morris, and composer George Fenton.

Loach On-Demand
Hulu Plus: N/A
iTunes: Looking for Eric, It's a Free World, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, McLibel, My Name is Joe, Raining Stones
Netflix Instant: The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Bread and Roses, Ladybird Ladybird, Hidden Agenda, Kes
Vudu: N/A

The Angel's Share
"Narrowly avoiding jail, new dad Robbie vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whisky distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives." —IMDb

For The Angel's Share, Loach appears to be stepping out in a slightly new direction. There's a bit of the director's signature "power to the people" philosophy in this story about a out-of-luck, small-time crook attempting to rob an expensive cache of whiskey, in order to set his newborn child up with the kind of life he never had. That said, the tone isn't exactly serious-minded. Loach clearly wants to have some fun late in his career, and judging this one just off the trailer (embedded below), it seems he has.

Robbie Ryan, the DP on Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights (among other films), has replaced Barry Ackroyd as cinematographer on this Loach effort. But the director's affinity for finding new on-screen talent is still evident here, judging by Paul Brannigan's (Robbie) almost empty acting resume.

The film feels like a quainter version of Ocean's 11, which can't be a bad thing, but might not be a Palme thing, either. But Loach has had his day, and though I'm sure a jury of his peers would just love to award him once again, I'm not sure it will be for this picture, as enjoyable as it might be.