Sweet Sixteen

Ken Loach is an unabashedly Socialist writer and director who has made quite a few films in England and never been tempted to go Hollywood. He specializes in the working class in the UK, and if you liked films like Ladybird, Ladybird, or Bread and Roses, (which we did), you’ll probably like this one. It is a tough life with few options he shows here, and you can’t help liking the main character even though he is a criminal, because his dreams are so modest and so unattainable, and he tries so hard against impossible odds. My only complaint: It needed subtitles. Very few Americans will understand the thick Scottish accent and dialect. I got about half the dialogue, and still liked it.