The Navigators

As always, a social issue is beautifully intertwined with personal drama: sad, funny, true like life itself. And cinema itself. It's a relief to see someone can entertain and move us in this way, that's definitely not the present-day Hollywood way. On the other hand, Loach's career is brilliant from beginning to end with the only possible exception of Carla's Song that I consider a faux-pas. Like all great artists, Loach with this films add something to our understanding of ourselves, and our present history. I supposed that you understood I liked it. Still it seems I've lost the best: the liverpuldian parley. In Italy unfortunately all these films come dubbed.

Marvelous film set in South Yorkshire, using local actors and comedians, done not so much in a documentary style, but with a documentary feel, about a group of railroad track workers during the privatization of British Rail. The culture changing from one of unionized steady jobs, to one of freelancing with no health care or holidays and for the sake of economy, stretching security which leads to the death of one of the workers. This presumably low budget film, shot all on location, is gritty, real, and is a wonderful insight into the British working class and its humor. A real treasure.

The fact that the previous reviewer apparently had other problems on her mind at the time should not dissuade anyone from seeing this excellent example of Ken Loach's work.

Saying frankly, I did not enjoy, nor being moved by the movie. The story is neither dramatic nor exciting. The lead character is not well defined and thus easy to confuse the audience. After watching it, being little bit disappointed, I went out to walk my dog, but the movie occupied my thought even after I came home. This is a story in railway workers in the UK, however I could see similar situation in Japan too. In Japan, many companies are gradually recovering from serious downfall. But during the process of profit recovery, companies have replaced fixed-cost employees by variable cost contract workers. As a result, the lifetime employment system has collapsed, and the power of the unions, the members of which are employees only, have been eroding. At the same time, number of contract workers, who do not have systematic training and skills building, has increased. In this trend the gap between peoples of high wages and low wages are becoming wider. British society has been many years the forerunner in the world of winning the rights of workers. But these rights are now too easily forgotten under the pressure of global economy. This is a social crisis in longer term. At least this movie has succeeded to portray this crisis.

This is by no means a movie to be seen for pure entertainment,. This is a REALISTIC movie, so those looking for kicks stay away. Otherwise you will be so disappointed.

I like this movie so much, especially since is the type of movie Hollywood would NEVER make. It sharply portraits how bad working conditions have gotten over the years (which is something I have witnessed firsthand). Treating people like dirt and firing them without a reason have become an end it itself.

Watching this film takes you to the core of what's going on at most workplaces, which obviously won't delight those who think life is pretty, because it ain't. Put your feet on the ground and search for that beauty - you are not going to find it in the treatment workers are getting anywhere. This is the real world, people, whether we like it or not.

While seeing this movie, never did I feel I was in the cinema. I could relate to what the characters were going through.

Of course the movie has no happy end, but if it did would be unreal.

10/10.

I saw the movie today. It is good to know that while in Hollywood the so called entertainment industry wants to send our minds and conscious into sleep, comes a real humanist film maker and serves as a voice of society in a crisis, of real people like all of us that deal with problems that surface everywhere in the world. How men can survive and remain human and moral while fighting in vain in every establishment, including ones that suppose to help the individual. It is not just a Marxist manifesto but rather a compassion, loving, caring and worried look at a group of people that want to survive in a world that is changing rapidly economically and morally. You'll laugh with them, get frustrated with them and feel pity for them when they make the wrong choice (if such a thing can be defined). As always with Loach's films, it's so reliable that you immediately feel that the characters are a part of your life and there are no actors and no movie - just a look at familiar people who struggle to keep their jobs against a system that doesn't really care for its human resources and by that hurt them and herself. It is really touching and heart-tearing as much as loving with even quite a lot bits of humor which make it more credible. A real must!