Raining Stones – a review
August 3rd 2008 23:39
My glimpse into Ken Loach’s Raining Stones (1993) was accidental. It was my day off and I was scouring the shelves of my local video shop looking for something away from the factory mill of Hollywood. Its cover of a little girl dressed in a Holy Communion dress running down a street with a flower in her hand attracted me. It was my first taste of Loach’s dedication to creating unforgettable portraits of human anguish and the price society can pay when best intentions go awry.
Raining Stones shows a man staunchly devoted to his family and his religion. Proud and marginalised, from a working-class background, in the north of England, Bob (Bruce Jones) wants his little girl to have a beautiful but unfortunately expensive new dress for her First Communion.
Bob and his close friend Tommy (Ricky Tomlinson) both struggle to survive on the dole. To supplement their limited income, they have occasional, generally unwise ideas of how to make extra money. This time it is stealing sheep from the moors with the intention of reselling them. The meat turns out to be mutton which of course no-one wants. They show uncomfortable tenacity as they go from pub to pub to try and get rid of the meat, with no luck. While in one pub, Bob’s van is stolen. Undeterred, Bob continues to do anything to give his daughter this dress.
Loach describes: ‘it’s about how he tries to raise the mood he needs and the trouble he gets in. It’s a comedy about debt really, but it’s got a very sharp edge… It’s about people who are beaten down but not broken. The important thing about Bob is that he is desperately trying to keep his dignity in tact.’
The film’s name is derived from the words spoken to Bob by his father-in-law, a Labour Party functionary who works in the local Council office: ‘For the working class, it is always raining stones–seven days a week.’
In typical Loach style, the message was thunderous. His desperation was contagious. Watching his situation decline further and further was painful to watch, I wanted to give him and his family ideas or help of how to improve their situation but I felt a sense of powerless being only the viewer – and a middle-class viewer at that.
Loach emphasises the faithful representation of human life and social reality, focusing on the plight of the poor and the working classes and calling for social reforms and the end of exploitation and injustice. His films are based on authenticity; filmed in the place they portray with the correct dialects and accents. This realism is so strong that it often feels as though the actors are real and not part of a plot.
A consistent aim throughout Ken's work seems to be how to incorporate politics into mainstream fiction films without preaching. Loach continues to make films that encourage viewers to be conscious of their seat in society, literally and metaphorically: ‘To have a pat ending would be very crude; it would undermine all the complexity that we've tried to put into it. There's a possibility that whatever they do, their objective circumstances don't change. He or she’s still in that shitty place… all the tensions are still there, no matter what they do in that time and place. I believe that as politics and films can be so far apart, I think we can only hope for a certain level of change and to me the main step is raised awareness.’
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Comment by Sara Dobson
Parents Precinct
My Turn
This movie looks great. The sort of thing I would have chosen for myself.
Sara
Comment by Sara Dobson
Parents Precinct
My Turn
This movie looks great. The sort of thing I would have chosen for myself.
Sara
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
I love Loach's line "beaten down but not broken".
Comment by tlcorbin
Coffee Quip
Ruby, I'm sorry that you couldn't deliver the message to your father. Things like that can be devastating.
Great story line Tracy.
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
It's a film that is hard to watch, but most definitely worth it.
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I know what you mean; this film hugely affected me, even watching the trailer again does it.
I’m sorry that you can’t tell your father how much you appreciate what he did. As you said, when we’re children, we’re less aware of sacrifices and efforts around us. It’s often not until a death or trauma that we see things differently.
Yes, I agree with your thoughts about Loach’s quote: It’s about people who are beaten down but not broken. There’s a big difference isn’t there? I think that was a big part of my anguish when watching the film, that Bob kept trying and trying, yet the spiral continued...
I admire this about the Bobs of our world: The important thing about Bob is that he is desperately trying to keep his dignity intact.’ I feel Loach maintained Bob’s integrity which is one of the reasons why I respect his work so much.
Thank-you for your thoughts, Ruby.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
It's a striking and unusual cover isn't it?
I think you would like this film, Cib. It's hard to watch but most definitely worth it.
Thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I know what you mean; the philosophy of being ‘beaten down but not broken’ resonates with some parts of my adulthood.
I’m sorry to hear that it describes your childhood, but at the same time pleased that you weren’t ‘broken’. As I’m sure you felt, sometimes it can be really hard not to stay down...
Thanks for popping over, Raven.
Tracy
Comment by Lara M
Love Speaks
Food Slate
Looks like a good film. I think I know what you mean by 'hard to watch'...
Have you watched 'Romulus, My Father'? It's based on a biographical memoir by Australian philosopher Raimond Gaita. Hard to watch but an excellent make - great acting and beautiful cinematography.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I haven't seen 'Romulus' yet, but it's one I'm definitely interested in. It's on my list, thank-you for the reminder.
Thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
What a wonderful review. I have never heard of this movie. I will be certain to check it out.
Mis
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Good to see you,
Tracy