Benny Profane
01-31-2008, 02:44 PM
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/07/27/arts/27england-600.jpg
Reminded me a lot of Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen but with a little more stylistic flare (key word: little) and an ending that was lot more rushed and pat. But falling short of an ending as great as Sweet Sixteen is something that can be said for pretty much every film, so it's not a major issue.
For those who don't know, This is England is about a young impressionable boy named Shaun who gets tangled up in the wrong crowd. In this case, it's hard-core nationalist skin-heads who are bitter about Pakistani immigrants "taking" jobs away from the locals, in a time of high unemployment and an unpopular war in the Falklands. In fact, Shaun's father has been killed in the war, and he gets teased at school about it. The skinheads offer him protection from bullies and provide a father figure in what appears to be a masculine society. His mother is an important presence in his life, but he is looking for a strong male influence.
Caveat: Some of these skinheads are not neo-nazis, and some are. Woody is the skinhead who adopts Shaun into the gang, and while he is mischievous, he's very charismatic and cool with all people. There is even a black kid named Milky who is part of Woody's crew. It's an older ex-con named Combo that convinces Shaun that his father died for nothing in the Falklands if the Pakistanis are allowed to thrive in England. Combo is not portrayed as a psychotic monster. He can also be warm and charismatic, but with a vicious mean streak and pent up rage. He can snap at any second. Already feeling bad enough that his father is dead and other kids pick on him about it, Shaun attaches himself to Combo's crew and it's here that his downward spiral begins, as Woody and his friends do not share Combo's nationalistic passion and have left Shaun to his care.
It's the well-roundedness of the characters and the realistic plot/setting that draws me to these types of films. I thought it was an excellent portrayal of a turbulent time and a great coming-of-age film at the same time. Looking for recommendations for films in the same vein as this and Sweet Sixteen.
Reminded me a lot of Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen but with a little more stylistic flare (key word: little) and an ending that was lot more rushed and pat. But falling short of an ending as great as Sweet Sixteen is something that can be said for pretty much every film, so it's not a major issue.
For those who don't know, This is England is about a young impressionable boy named Shaun who gets tangled up in the wrong crowd. In this case, it's hard-core nationalist skin-heads who are bitter about Pakistani immigrants "taking" jobs away from the locals, in a time of high unemployment and an unpopular war in the Falklands. In fact, Shaun's father has been killed in the war, and he gets teased at school about it. The skinheads offer him protection from bullies and provide a father figure in what appears to be a masculine society. His mother is an important presence in his life, but he is looking for a strong male influence.
Caveat: Some of these skinheads are not neo-nazis, and some are. Woody is the skinhead who adopts Shaun into the gang, and while he is mischievous, he's very charismatic and cool with all people. There is even a black kid named Milky who is part of Woody's crew. It's an older ex-con named Combo that convinces Shaun that his father died for nothing in the Falklands if the Pakistanis are allowed to thrive in England. Combo is not portrayed as a psychotic monster. He can also be warm and charismatic, but with a vicious mean streak and pent up rage. He can snap at any second. Already feeling bad enough that his father is dead and other kids pick on him about it, Shaun attaches himself to Combo's crew and it's here that his downward spiral begins, as Woody and his friends do not share Combo's nationalistic passion and have left Shaun to his care.
It's the well-roundedness of the characters and the realistic plot/setting that draws me to these types of films. I thought it was an excellent portrayal of a turbulent time and a great coming-of-age film at the same time. Looking for recommendations for films in the same vein as this and Sweet Sixteen.