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Ken Loach's The Navigators, which is finally being released after debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival a year and a half ago, is the kind of movie that would probably make Michael Moore ball up his hammy little fists in unbridled anger. Based on real events, The Navigators depicts the ill effects caused by the privatization of the rail system in England while hammering home a recognizable message to anyone familiar with Loach's previous work - working class good, big business bad.
The film is set in 1995 South Yorkshire, and its six main characters (some have zero acting experience) all toil away in the Infrastructure Maintenance Division of British Rail. These are guys who are already living paycheck to paycheck, but when their company is taken over by East Midland Infrastructure (which almost sounds like the name of the Japanese conglomerate that makes Mr. Sparkle), their lives get much worse, not to mention far more dangerous.
There is some humor in watching these Salts of the Earth being dropped into corporate hell as they hear their new Mission Statement for the first time, or when they watch a training video full of buzzwords and catchphrases. But the laughs make way for what we all know will be some kind of horrible tragedy when EMI starts talking about maintaining acceptable death levels. It's all about efficiency, and safety becomes a secondary concern.
If The Full Monty had been a drama, and didn't have the peeling or happy ending, it would probably have looked something like The Navigators (plus Steve Huison plays one of the workers here). Like most of Loach's recent work, the story's trajectory might seem a little lazy, but his directorial style always makes the material interesting. Seeing The Navigators is like watching a documentary. I'm a little baffled by directors like Loach (Bread & Roses) and their uncanny ability to make people with no acting background play their parts so well, especially when you look at the crappy performances churned out by big stars like Harrison Ford and Sandra Bullock.
The Navigators was written by Rob Dawber, who died before the film ever saw the light of day. Dawber spent many years in the rail infrastructure business, and his death was caused by the inhalation of asbestos on the job.
1:32 - R for language and some sexuality
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