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Category Archives: Unemployment-Wages

My Second Brother (Nianchan) [1960]

20 Apr

101m; Japan

Director: Shôhei Imamura

Cast: Hiroyuki Nagato, Kayo Matsuo and Takeshi Okimura

Synopsis (IMDB): Set during Japan’s depression years in the 50s, Nianchan (read: My Second Brother) tells the story about a family of 4 orphans, who are forced by circumstances to fend for themselves. Being in a mining town where the mining company is beginning to right-size its operations, jobs are getting scarce, and wages are getting lower with frequent cuts. Sticking together trying to find a way out of the vicious circle is close to impossible, and they realize that they have a better chance at carving a living if they split up.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

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My Town (2002)

20 Apr

60m; Poland

Director: Marek Lechki

Cast: Radoslaw Chrzescianski, Agnieszka Banach and Krzysztof Stroinski

Synopsis (IMDB): A slice of life in the mining/industrial region of Upper Silesia. Many mines and factories closed down in 1990s, resulting in high unemployment, economic depression, and general hopelessness. We follow 25-years-old unemployed Gozdzik who lives with his alcoholic father, his mother, always anxious about the future, and an assortment of neighbours. The gray monotony of daily life is broken by arrival of a long-absent uncle, a new girl staying with neighbours, and a tragedy involving Gozdzik’s best friend

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Unemployment-Wages

 

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Nothing But A Man (1964)

20 Apr

95m; U.S.

Director: Michael Roemer

Cast:  Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln and Julius Harris

Synopsis (IMDB): Born in Birmingham, Duff Anderson, the father of a male toddler, who lives with a nanny, re-locates to a small town to work on the railroad. He meets with and is attracted to Josie much to the chagrin of her preacher father. The marriage does take place nevertheless, both re-locate to live in their own house and he gets a job in a mill. He decides not to bring his son to live with them. Challenges arise when the Mill Foreman finds out that Duff is attempting to unionize the workers, forcing Duff to quit, and look for work elsewhere. Unable to reconcile himself to working on a daily wage of $2.50 picking cotton nor even as a waiter, he gets a job at a garage. He is enraged at a customer for belittling him and Josie, and is let go. Unemployed, unable to support his wife and son, he gets abusive and leaves – perhaps never to return.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in A: Highly Recommended Labor Films, Blacks, Class, Collective Bargaining, Drama, Farm & Food, Organizing, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

Of Mice and Men (1992)

20 Apr

115m; U.S.

Director: Gary Sinise

Cast: John Malkovich, Gary Sinise and Ray Walston

Synopsis (IMDB): Based on John Steinbeck’s 1937 classic tale of two travelling companions, George and Lennie, who wander the country during the Depression, dreaming of a better life for themselves. Then, just as heaven is within their grasp, it is inevitably yanked away. The film follows Steinbeck’s novel closely, exploring questions of strength, weakness, usefulness, reality and utopia, bringing Steinbeck’s California vividly to life.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Migrant workers, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

On a Clear Day (2005)

20 Apr

98m; U.K.

Director: Gaby Dellal

Cast: Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn and Billy Boyd

Synopsis (IMDB): After decades of laboring as a Glasgow shipbuilder, Frank Redmond, a no-nonsense 55-year-old working-class man, suddenly finds himself laid off. For the first time in his life, he is without a job or a sense of direction, and he’s too proud to ask for guidance. His best mates – rascally Danny, timid Norman and cynical Eddie – are there for him, but Frank still feels desperately alone. An offhand remark from Danny inspires Frank to challenge himself. Already contemplating the state of his relationships with loving wife Joan and all-but-estranged son Rob, Frank is determined to shore up his own self-confidence. He will attempt the near impossible – swimming the English Channel. As Frank plunges headlong into his new daily life, his astonished friends are swept along with him. Prodded by stalwart fish-and-chips shop owner Chan, the men support Frank, train him – and keep their goal secret from his wife and son.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Children, Class, Drama, Romance, Sports, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

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On to Ottawa (1992)

20 Apr
Directed by Sara Diamond
Produced by the On to Ottawa Historical Societyand
The Women’s Labour
History Project 
RT: 53 minutes 46 seconds
© 1992 – NTSC / PAL

In 1935 thousands of unemployed men hopped frieght trains for Ottawa demanding work, wages and an end to the relief camps. On to Ottawa brings this historic event to the video medium.

It is based on the play written by Tom Hawken featuring his band, Trek participants Robert “Bobby” Jackson, Ray Wainwright and Jean Evans Sheils, daughter of Trek leader Arthur “Slim” Evans.

Click here for ordering information.
 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Documentary, Labor History, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

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Outsiders

20 Apr

Synopsis: Follows the Kensington Welfare Rights Union “new freedom bus tour” of the country in the summer of 1998.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Documentary, Organizing, Unemployment-Wages

 

Over Land (2008)

20 Apr

59m; CanadaOverLand
Director: Steve Suderman

Synopsis: Family farmers face the threat of closing.

Over Land is an intimate and personal portrait of a family facing a crisis in agriculture. Between 1996 and 2006, despite warnings of an impending food shortage, prices for farm goods dropped to their lowest point in Canadian history, driving many farmers off the land. With a family history of farming spanning generations, the Sudermans now face a challenge that threatens to pull the family apart.

Over Land features original music composed and performed by Dirk Powell.The executive producer is Robin Schlaht. Directed by Steve Suderman.

Contact: steve@gorgeousproductions.ca 306-525-2524 (Home)

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Documentary, Farm & Food, Global Economy, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

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Pickpocket (1959)

20 Apr

75m; France

Director: Robert Bresson

Cast: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green and Jean Pélégri

Synopsis: Michel is released from jail after serving a sentence for thievery. His mother dies and he resorts to pickpocketing as a means of survival.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Crime-Action, Drama, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

 

La Moitie Gauche du Frigo (2000)

30 Mar

90 min

Director: Philippe Falardeau

Synopsis: (New York Times): A documentary filmmaker and his subject find themselves at odds in this dark comedy from Canada. A mechanical engineer who has lost his job is trying to decide what to do with himself now that he needs to find a job. An actor who is looking to break into filmmaking hears of his predicament and asks to make a film about his life, following him with a camera until he can land a job.

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/230253/La-Moitie-gauche-du-frigo/overview

 
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Posted by on March 30, 2012 in Comedy, Unemployment-Wages

 
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