Film: I, Daniel Blake GapFill

Link to Official Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahWgxw9E_h4

The official trailer for I, Daniel Blake begins with an on-screen graphic revealing that the film has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in  FranceBelgiumPortugalItaly. Many fans of  new Hollywoodart-houseexperimentalsurrealist cinema will automatically consider this a reason to see the film. As the production company logos appear on screen, there is a voice-over which firmly establishes the narrative and themes of the film: 'I am appointed to carry out assessments for Employment Support Allowance.'

As soon as clips from the film are introduced, it becomes clear that I, Daniel Blake belongs to the  social realistsurrealistspeculativephilosophical subgenre. The majority of the scenes appear to be shot on location using natural  high-keybouncefillpractical lighting, meaning that stark shadows and contrast are minimised in a manner that more closely resembles real life. Little attention is drawn to the  cinematographypolitical messagesoundmise en scène as the actors are almost always the primary focus of each individual shot. This use of imagery emphasises the human story that is key to the film’s narrative; meaning and emotion are intended to emanate from these characters’ hardships, and less so through the use of abstract or poetic imagery. The dialogue appears to be highly  persuasivenaturalisticfuturisticstylised as it lacks the elegance and formality of the dialogue seen in more stylish or melodramatic films. The trailer is mainly comprised of  fullstationarycowboyground level shots, conforming to standard rules of compositional construction and avoiding stylised framing – to simply present these events as if they are happening in real life, and not in a film. This simplicity of technique is mirrored in the regular use of  dissolvefade-to-blackjump-cutrough-cut editing transitions as opposed to more visible and exhilarating techniques. These aesthetic elements all contribute to a strong sense of  satirereflexivityverisimilitudesymbolic annihilation.

Similar information can be gathered by studying the theatrical poster for I, Daniel Blake. Ken Loach’s name is placed at the top of the page (more prominently than any of the actors' names). This is, therefore, an unusual case in which the film’s star power comes from its director. Loach is a well-celebrated British film director who has complete artistic control of his work – his reputation as an  technicalmainstreamanarchistauteur film-maker is arguably one of the film’s key selling points. Audiences familiar with the director’s work can probably anticipate they will be watching a film with   an anti-Corbyna capitalista right-winga left-wing ideology. The film’s distributors have focused on marks of quality by saturating the poster with positive critical reviews – the emphasis on phrases such as 'utterly heart-breaking', 'emotional gut punch' and 'scalding' suggests that the film has ambitions beyond simply entertaining a mainstream audience.

Judging from the trailer and the poster, I, Daniel Blake appears to defy  Gerbner’sHall’sCurran and Seaton’sLivingstone and Lunt’s theory of power and media industries. The film resonated with a wider audience than expected and was created by a number of independent companies with the intention of challenging some of the most powerful organisations in society. Furthermore, the reasons for the film’s existence appear to transcend financial profit.