It's a Free World... (2007)

After being fired from her job, Angie teams up with her flatmate to find employment for immigrants.

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Paul Laverty

Stars:

Kierston Wareing, Juliet Ellis, Leslaw Zurek

4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kierston Wareing	...	Angie
Juliet Ellis	...	Rose
Leslaw Zurek	...	Karol
Joe Siffleet	...	Jamie
Colin Coughlin	...	Geoff
Maggie Russell	...	Cathy (as Maggie Hussey)
Raymond Mearns	...	Andy
Davoud Rastgou	...	Mahmoud
Mahin Aminnia	...	Mahin, Mahmoud's Wife
Shadeh Kavousian	...	Shadeh, daughter of Mahmoud and Mahin
Sheeva Kavousian	...	Sheeva, daughter of Mahmoud and Mahin
Frank Gilhooley	...	Derek
David Doyle	...	Tony
Eddie Webber	...	Company Director
Johnny Palmiero	...	Company Director

Storyline

Angie gets the sack from a recruitment agency for bad behaviour in public. Seizing the chance, she teams up with her flatmate, Rose, to run a similar business from their kitchen. With immigrants desperate to work the opportunities are considerable, particularly for two girls so in tune with these times.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | van | ford | ford transit | honda | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie Angela and Jamie are watching whilst waiting for the pizza to be delivered is Dog Soldiers (2002).

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Quotes

Karol: You know the old saying? Never return a favour, pass it on.

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Crazy Credits

"The dozens of foreign workers and grey workers who shared their stories but do not want to be named."

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Connections

Referenced in Right Now, Wrong Then (2015)

User Reviews

Let (s)he who is not guilty cast the first stone...

First of all, I think this film quite rightly got the plug it deserved on all of the Broadsheets in the UK. This might be partly due to the involvement of Ken Loach himself but also because it is a rather poignant essay of the one crucial aspect of globalisation – the richer countries exploiting the availability of the cheap labour available from the poorer countries.

This is not the first of its kind to be done, but this film had sympathy, warmth, objectivity and class and a viable plot. The whole film, however, is carried by Kierston Wareing, with no real development of other characters such as her business partner or even her dad, who both could have highlighted the different shades of the argument and perhaps externalised some of the conflicts that we all face when we encounter the by-products of such exploitation. By this, I mean the cheap strawberries in the supermarkets, casual builders, the "baristas" working behind the various Coffee chains and basically all of the other unsung victims who go to subsidising every aspect of our material life.

The basic kernel of the film does succeed to some extent in showing the different facets of the human character such as sympathy for the individual versus the indifference to the abstracted group; highlighting the similarities in the trials and tribulations of people in both the 'host' and the 'donor' countries; the fact that a lot of people are up for making a quick buck off the suffering of others; and that people exist who will try and be fair to others regardless of their backgrounds.

However, the reality might not be so clear cut and easily digestible. Perhaps not all of the immigrant workers are so docile and placid; perhaps not all immigrant workers are so subservient and accepting when the roles are reversed and the female becomes the sexual predator; perhaps not all immigrant workers insist on "passing on the favour instead of returning it".

While it is a noble effort and some effort has been made to highlight the plight of such immigrants, it is still just a snapshot of a much more knotty problem – a problem that we are all, to some extent, responsible for.

That said, "Bravo" to the fantastic Mr. Loach for agreeing to get his "hands dirty" with such a current and contentious subject.

Details

Official Sites:

Diaphana [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK Italy Germany Spain Poland

Language:

Persian Russian English Polish

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

En fri verden

Filming Locations:

East End, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,645,036

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmcoopi Zürich, BIM Distribuzione, Buksfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1