I, Daniel Blake (4 Stars)

"I, Daniel Blake" was recommended to me today as a film about poverty in England. I'm an Englishman who has lived in Germany since 2016. I'd heard about the film, but it wasn't shown in German cinemas, at least not locally. It was shown on German television this week, so it's available on ZDF's catch up service. Despite being excellently dubbed into German, I doubt that German audiences can understand it. It's not a language problem, it's a culture problem. Even viewers from other English-speaking countries must be baffled by the film.

Calling "I, Daniel Blake" a film about poverty doesn't do it justice. There are poor people in many countries. This film shows the absurd situation which was prevalent in England (the rest of the UK to a lesser degree) in the 2010's. It looks like a story written by Franz Kafka.

Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old carpenter in Newcastle, has had a heart attack, and his doctor has declared him unfit to work. His application for sickness benefits (ESA, Employment Support Allowance) is turned down, because he has to answer a set of standard questions that don't relate to his heart disease. He's told that he's fit to work, so he should apply for unemployment benefits (JSA, Jobseekers Allowance). When he tells the representative at the JSA application that he's unable to work, he's told to apply for ESA instead. The two English benefits agencies work independently of one another and are well known for sending applicants back and forth.

While waiting for a chance to appeal against the rejection of his ESA claim, he continues his JSA claim by pretending to be able to work. The arguments he's involved in, combined with his lack of money, cause his health to deteriorate. As long as he can, Daniel aids a single mother who's also struggling due to a lack of money. He thinks about others, not himself.

This is a film that makes me ashamed to be English. Why did a benefits system that worked well for decades need to be changed? The argument is that under the old system it was too easy for lazy people to claim benefits that they didn't deserve. Now it's gone to the other extreme, that people who are genuinely in need are unjustly refused. I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of David Cameron, who was the UK's prime minister at the time. Many prefer to blame Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016, who devised many of the changes. In his favour, Iain Duncan Smith recognised the failings of his system and regretted it when he saw how it worked in practise. David Cameron never regretted what he'd done.

The subsequent prime ministers, who also belong to the ruling Conservative Party, have done nothing to change the ridiculous benefits system, except to combine ESA, JSA and other benefits into a single Universal Credit. The opposition Labour Party has repeatedly promised to undo the changes, but will they? The new system has been set in concrete, so it could cause years of chaos to undo everything.

For me, the root problem isn't with people being unable or unwilling to work. It's about there not being enough jobs available. Our modern society means more automation that reduces the number of low-skilled jobs, and no amount of education can help people with below average intelligence to move into higher skilled jobs. I'm a strong supporter of Universal Basic Income (UBI). This is the only feasible system. People without work should not be allowed to starve. They should be treated with dignity.

I can't recommend this film. It's depressing. Despite being a fictional account, it's too realistic. There have been thousands of cases like Daniel Blake. If you want to know more about them, don't watch this film, read a newspaper.

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