I Daniel Blake

11 yrs 96 minutes • 2016 • 7.8

I, Daniel Blake is about 59-year-old carpenter Daniel who has become unemployed because of a heart attack. According to his doctor, he should not be working for a long period, but according to the authorities he is too healthy to recieve sickness benefits. As a result, he is instead forced to be unemployed and to actively pursue jobs to receive state funding. Daniel's days are filled with feverish attempts to fill in the correct forms and sit in phone queues. Together with Katie, an unemployed single mother who is also stuck in the bureaucratic system, they try to win over the authorities. Their friendship gives them both strength to fight against a broken system, which usually hinders more than helps its victims. Ken Loach's film was rewarded with the Golden Palm in Cannes and was celebrated by the Swedish critics. Among others, Michael Tapper wrote in Sydsvenskan that "I, Daniel Blake is Loach when he is best: Straightforward, unsentimental, and striking."