Written by Andreas Babiolakis

This review is a part of the Palme d’Or Project: a review of every single Palme d’Or winner at Cannes Film Festival. I, Daniel Blake won the sixty first Palme d’Or at the 2016 festival.

The film was selected by the following jury.
Jury President: George Miller.
Jury: Arnaud Desplechin, Kirsten Dunst, Valeria Golino, Mads Mikkelsen, László Nemes, Vanessa Paradis, Katayoon Shahabi, Donald Sutherland.

Rarely does Cannes go for the crowd pleaser, but Ken Loach’s second Palme d’Or winner, I, Daniel Blake, is exactly that (without feeling compromised or held back). The film was the closing picture of the festival, and it seemed like it couldn’t be shaken off by the Cannes jury: usually, winners will stand out no matter what comes afterward. It makes sense that this film made such a last-minute splash, because it’s tough not to love: I don’t know if I would call I, Daniel Blake the best film of 2016, but I can easily declare it a booming triumph of perseverance in the face of injustice. It’s an underdog tale that isn’t held back by over-sentimentality, kitschiness, or the same notes that many lazy films hit. It’s nice to see authentic hope and fight in a film about the everyday person being squashed by the system, because we’ve been fed the same bullshit story by those who don’t actually care about listening to us day in and day out. Loach cares. Loach has always cared.

The titular character has survived a heart attack, and has faced himself torn between not being taken in for work or given the proper benefits to survive. Blake (played sympathetically and emphatically by Dave Johns) is trying everything to get by. He fills in all of the proper paperwork, and undergoes all of the necessary procedures, and he can’t get a break. Whatever doesn’t work out is because of how governmental systems aren’t made to be easy: they prey upon the vulnerable, as to blame others whilst saving money (by not giving said hand outs). Well, Blake plays ball until he can’t any more, leading into the film’s final act: a case of much needed rebellion. Even if Blake doesn’t get what he is fighting for, he is the face of a movement: normal people that have been screwed with for far too long by leaders that couldn’t care less.

Blake meets someone similarly in his position: a single mother who is similarly being strung along by the system. It’s one thing for Blake to want to protect himself from being left behind, but to see someone that he cares about being neglected is the final straw that he needs. Loach wants I, Daniel Blake to be that final straw for you: a realization that you’re not alone in your frustrations with governmental procedures, and the feeling that you are completely ignored by the powers that be. There is a bit of whimsy throughout Loach’s film, but not enough to drench it and make it feel sappy. This is a film for everyone, but it also takes its audience seriously. You want Blake to succeed, and so does the film. There’s no interest in making a buck here, because that would be disingenuous, particularly with the film’s approach towards the prioritization of people’s well beings over anything else. Ken Loach has always made films on behalf of the many voices that can’t present themselves. With I, Daniel Blake, his demographic is bigger than ever before: far beyond the borders of just the United Kingdom. We’ve all been misled and disregarded. We’ve all been Daniel Blake. It’s in the title: you bring up the film, and you declare yourself “I, Daniel Blake”. Let’s hope that there aren’t real martyrs before people start to listen and fight for themselves, since Loach provided a great-enough symbol for us.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.