Ken Loach is best known for the following films: I, Daniel Blake, kes, Land and freedom, sorry we missed you and Riff-Raff. Ken Loach purposely makes controversial films not just for entertainment but to provoke a public reaction, as many of his films display his own political ideologies that he believes need to be adressed. For example Loach's film, I, Daniel Blake, publicises the way in which the social security system is administered and, in particular, the humiliating cruelty of the benefits system. The bureaucracy is portrayed as inhumane and unjust as in the film 59 year-old Daniel Blake, who has suffered a major heart attack, is medically unfit for work. The Job Seeker’s Allowance is his only potential and safe form of income. After his application for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is declined following an assessment processed and administered by a “health professional.”
A “health professional” is neither a doctor nor a nurse, but someone who is not medically qualified.
Some critical responses to the film have said " Writer-director Ken Loach has been making movies about the British working class since the mid-60s, and this masterful dramatic feature proves that even after all these years he can still work himself up into righteous, white-hot rage."
" a deeply moving portrait of poverty and human dignity."
"Brims with spirit, sympathy and candor as it tackles the catastrophic displacement brought on by economic and technological change."
Another Loach film, 'Sorry we missed you', portrays the same liberal left wing ideologies of 'I, Daniel Blake. The film centers the dehumanising world of working class people on zero-hour contracts. Ricky is a self-employed parcel delivery driver, Abbie is a carer for he elderly. Abbie is paid only per visit and has to cover the cost of travel to clients homes, Ricky must provide his own delivery van and his freedom is restricted by a scanner that tracks his every move. If he takes time off, he has to pay penalties.
The thematic concerns of many of Loaches films evidently are the undeserved, inhumane treatment and alienation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. According to the Glasgow times, Loach wants people to watch his film 'I, Daniel Blake', to "see the world through his eyes" ( his being the protagonist Daniel Blake,) and then ask "the big questions", like: "Why are we living like this? Why are the Government behaving like this?".