Thatcherism and the Irish troubles provide the backdrop for this study of Mick, a well-meaning youth in Sheffield, who has, unlike Dickens' Pip, no expectations. Mick lives with his parents, works on his motorbike, looks for work, and every two weeks gets his check from the dole. There are no jobs. His best mate Alan joins the army to fix tanks and is sent to Belfast to quell Catholics. At a disco, Mick meets Karen, who works at a shoe shop and lives with her recently-separated mom. Karen misses her dad. She offers Mick emotional stability and a route to adulthood; Alan pitches the army. Does Mick have a future?

director: Ken Loach
composer: Marc Wilkinson
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Credits
director: Ken Loachcomposer: Marc Wilkinson
producer: Irving Teitelbaum
production company: Black Lion Films
More info
Country: UKyear: 1981
Technical Specs
Other festival films by director Ken Loach
2019:Sorry We Missed You2016:I, Daniel Blake
2015:Kes
2007:Happy ending
2007:It's a free world
1996:Family life
1993:Kes
1991:Riff raff
1990:Hidden agenda
1985:Which side are you on ?
1980:Black jack