Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

sol- Forced by her parents to abort her unborn child, a teenager suffers a nervous breakdown and is taken to a psychiatrist, but the effectiveness is limited as her parents refuse to accept blame in this unpleasant yet encapsulating human drama from Ken Loach. With a cast of non-professional and first time actors, Loach manages to elicit some very down-to-earth performances and there are several memorable moments throughout as the girl struggles to cop with her loss. At one point, she draws a replacement child on her stomach with tears coming out of its eyes; at another point, she takes to deliriously spray-painting plants and trees blue as a form of expression. The film loses focus at times though with side scenes in which the hospital staff debate whether her psychiatrist's unconventional approach to therapy is worthwhile. The dialogue is also a tad problematic as the psychiatrist tends to lecture the parents at length, however, the girl's mother and father are given several great lines, most notably a flippant "who's making this code of living?" in regards to 1970s permissiveness. Other memorable quotes include "everyone's a bit peculiar" and "control is the answer" as the girl tries to ascertain whether she knows best or her parents do. This in turn is where the key strength of the film lies: the struggle of a youth to become independent when all she has ever known is dependency on her parents.

Sindre Kaspersen British social realist director Ken Loach's third feature film, an adaptation of the television play "In Two Minds" (1967) which was written by David Mercer (1928-1980) and directed by Ken Loach, was shot on location in Britain, and tells the story about 19-year-old Janice who has been brought up in a very strict working-class family. She lives with her mother and father who thinks she is irresponsible because she often changes jobs. Janice doesn't do what her parents want her to do and she stands up to them, so they decide that she is sick, talks her into having an abortion because they don't think she is fit to be a mother, sends her to a psychiatrist and eventually to a mental health institution.Acutely directed and with a straightforward narrative, this quietly paced and dialog-driven British independent film about social alienation and family relations touches the theme of Schizophrenia, and portrays a quiet study of character with a pointedly understated performance by Sandy Ratcliffe in her debut feature film role as a young woman who's way towards independence and self respect is obstructed by her parents, who are more interested in giving her directions and criticism rather than giving her the encouragement she needs her to live her own life. This compassionate, realistic and social documentary drama from the early 1970s, captures the failure in communication, the generational differences and the involuntary surrender of a 19-year-old woman who is being oppressed by her caretakers.Ken Loach has a take on depicting stories about individuals who are misconceived and wrongfully treated by society, and his gentle and attentive approach is commendable. As his second feature film "Kes" (1969), "Family Life" has heart, substance and relevance, and is a fine introduction to the works of one of Britain's greatest directors.

frrahier Family Life I've seen this movie at the end of the seventies, in France, on TV. I registered it, but I lost the tape. Since, I remember a great film, the first of Ken Loach I think. Always in my memory is the last scene, Janice alone behind the students in the amphitheater's and doctor saying that the problem is in his mind and no in the relationship with her parents. I read in some reviews of this time that Ken Loach based his story on the "antipsychiatrics theories" of Dr. Ronald Laing and Cooper, that I studied in France when I was scholar, theories developed in the neighborhood of Jean Paul Sartre's existential psychoanalysis. Recently, a friend of mine, teacher of English literature in my college, initiate a curse on these problems with her students. She needs the original script of this film, but we don't know other that the French translation issued in the L'Avant-Scène french review.. Who could send me part of the script of this film (in English)? Thanks.

dwpollar 1st watched 9/2/2002 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Ken Loach): Well played and disturbing documentary style movie about one messed-up family's life but more specifically the life of one of the children. Janice was supposedly perfect growing up, but went bad according to her parents when she started speaking her own mind and making her own decisions. The parents lost control of her and throughout this movie they seemed to be trying to fight for it back. The camera follows this family through the qwest of trying to find out what's wrong with Janice and why she's having so many problems. The sad thing is that no-one really figures this out despite many different treatments that are done on her. This movie is played out like a documentary case study, but it's actually a film played out by actors but it is done so well that it's hard for anyone to tell. Movies like this are more than entertainment, they are sobering melo-drama's about the hard things of life and how we do and don't cope with them.