Days of Hope

This is a brilliant and moving Film Verite that shows the complicated lives of a single family directly after the first world war Loach comments on the chaos, stitch-up, and buried hopes of a world full of hope for a better world after the war to end all wars. The acting is first-class and this film deserves to be seen by everyone. Unfortunately, the BBC were told not to show the film again in the UK, though it was sold abroad to many countries, Rumour has it that the originals were actually destroyed at the behest of the British government. In 1975 we named our lefty football team after it,which played in Bristol on Sundays till 2005. It would be fantastic if someone could admit to having a copy of the film. There are so many who would like to see and appreciate it again.

Kenneth Loach's story of three people living through the period between the world wars covers the recovery from the slaughter after 1918, the conflict in Ireland, the Depression and the general strike. Though the overall outcome is a betrayal of the hopes of ordinary people, it is not depressing or preachy. The director's point of view is always overt, but the great impressions are of compassion and of complete truthfulness in the representation of characters. After seeing and hearing one of the group scenes, of conversations in a pub, for example, you realise that every similar scene you've experienced before in film or on television was quite artificial. The rather drawn face of the (then young) Paul Copley in the leading role is unforgettable. This is at the top of my great experiences on television.

Okay, let's give credit where it's due: As in other Loach productions, the actors in this grim, earnest series look and sound relatively real. And as for one of the issues raised in the first installment -- whether Britain was wise to have entered the Great War -- I'd probably side, thanks to 20-20 hindsight, with those who wanted to stay out... which is certainly the point of view Loach is advocating.

But throughout his career, every film he's made is meant to convey some sort of heavy-duty left-wing political message - in this case, a numbingly predictable one about how the working class has been duped, screwed, and exploited. And because his movies are less interested in entertaining us than they are about Teaching Us a Lesson, I find myself tuning out. Granted, some lefty friends of mine revere Loach, because his films reflect and confirm their political beliefs. But for me, they're just skillfully made propaganda.

I have searched high and low in video stores for this. I think it is the most memorable TV drama I have seen, even though it is now almost 30 years since I saw it. I kept waiting for replays. I was gratified to read a couple of years ago that Phillip Adams, a prominent Australian commentator on movies and everything else (and heavily involved in Oz film and advertising) placed this #1 on his list of TV shows. You want reasons? All I remember now is the emotional power, the deep sense of injustice, the face of the CO given white feathers in England, later in France taken out to be wired to a post in No Man's Land. Why is this not shown again? Or did the BBC destroy the tapes, like they did with most of 'Not only, but also'?

Four film's following three young members of a Yorkshire farming family. Spanning the period from the First World War to the General Strike. Left wing working class history of a superior sort. Broadcast in 1975 (the 70s were a very radical cultural decade) Covers conscientious objectors, Durham miners strike and rise of the Labour Party. Excellent acting and very engaging script. I still found it a brilliant bit of social history so missing these days. Caused an absolute stink when broadcast lots of criticism from the usual right wing parties. It was felt that the series was too critical of the army Soviet and police etc. A landmark series. The best of loach (director) Tony Garnett ( Producer) and Jim Allen (Writer)