I, Daniel Blake (2016 Movie)

I, Daniel Blake is a 2016 drama film. It stars Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, who is denied employment and support allowance despite his doctor finding him unfit to work. This movie is a must watch as it reveals the harsh reality of a stringent governance system in developed nations. A governance system assists and enables the government of a nation to serve the citizens in an efficient way. However abiding by the system alone can become a bane to the nation.  The movie effectively portrays the failure of Welfare system in UK and how an eligible candidate for the welfare suffers endlessly at the hands of the system.

Widower Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner from Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he must complete forms online and he is not computer literate. The movie connects you to Daniel Blake, the central character of the movie and you strongly empathise with him as some time or other in your life, you also have been been a victim of an inefficient system.

The point of contention is despite of so much development and years of maturity of a developed nation, the governance system still creates major problems for common and ordinary citizens. The rich and wealthy are immune to such failures and enjoy all the good things irrespective of any government or governance system. The failure is so big that human intervention to solve the problem also becomes impossible. How does the suffering citizen deal with this issue ? It is not answered in the movie. But it leaves the viewer concerned and thoughtful about the matter. If a generic solution for the masses eases their lives, the same solution can also create misery for some. Watch the movie to know why any system governance should be periodically reviewed and corrected from time to time.

Click here to join WhatsApp Group of Jupiter Knowledge