We have FULL spoilers for the August 2018 Boxwalla Film box! This box is no longer available.
The theme for the film box is Institution and the individual. Both featured films explore the effect of the institution on the individual. Like great art, these films are not about big events or sweeping themes, but about the small acts and minute actions that one might think are inconsequential but which add up to deeply impact the life of individuals.
Each August Boxwalla film box includes:
You could say it is a rare phenomenon, in recent times, that a critically acclaimed film (the winner of the 2016 Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, no less), becomes something of a cultural phenomenon. That’s what happened with the film I, Daniel Blake by British filmmaker Ken Loach.
When the financial crisis happened in 2008, Britain decided to adopt a policy of austerity, where they cut spending, especially the spending on social welfare programs. Ken Loach’s ‘I, Daniel Blake’ is set in these climes & is about a 59 year old Daniel Blake, who has a heart attack at work. This event sets up a chain of subsequent events, & you watch Daniel Blake navigate the system to get his due. I don’t want to give away too much more, except to reproduce here below, a ‘quote’ from the film. A quote that became the phenomenon, with different people voicing the quote since it was applicable to each & everyone of them. I’ll be linking one such YouTube video in the stories- so make sure to watch that!
“I am not a client, a customer, nor a service user. I am not a shirker, a scrounger, a beggar, nor a thief. I'm not a National Insurance Number or blip on a screen. I paid my dues, never a penny short, and proud to do so. I don't tug the forelock, but look my neighbour in the eye and help him if I can. I don't accept or seek charity. My name is Daniel Blake...As such, I demand my rights. I demand you treat me with respect. I, Daniel Blake, am a citizen, nothing more and nothing less. Thank you.”
Ken Loach’s films, although fictional, function as social commentaries on the difficulties faced by the less privileged in Britain
Usually one never realizes an art movement is happening while it is happening. We are usually caught off guard and realize that we were in the midst of the movement only after the fact. Something like that happened in the early 2000s. Seemingly, out of nowhere came the Romanian film movement. People weren’t really aware of the build up to this movement but there were suddenly a series of films that caught the attention of cine-goers and critics at the Cannes Film Festival, starting in 2005.
The most famous filmmaker of the ‘Romanian New Wave’ as it is now called, is Cristian Mungiu.
We feature Cristian Mungiu’s beautiful film ‘Beyond the Hills’ in the August Film Box. It is a story about love, love between two women, forbidden by their religion.
The Subscription Box: Boxwalla Film
The Cost: $49.95 per shipment (every two months)
The Products: Two films from The Criterion Collection plus an insert are mailed to you. Additional material is emailed to you before and after you have watched the films.
Ships to: U.S. for free, Canada for $11.95, Internationally for $18.95
What do you think of the spoilers? Check out our Boxwalla reviews to learn more about this box!
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