Class Acts presents BLUE COLLAR
Directed by Paul Schrader Produced by Allan Ekelund Written by Paul Schrader and Leonard Schrader
Both a critique of union practices and an examination of life in a working-class Rust Belt enclave, Paul Schrader's directorial debut examines the trials of Detroit autoworkers living at the mercy of a heartless corporation and a corrupt union. The workers surviving from one paycheck to the next.
Checker Cab assembly linemen Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) scrape by and take pleasure in a few rounds of beer or bowling (and occasional illicit amusements). But when their money troubles pile up, Jerry and Smokey join Zeke in a desperate plan to steal cash from their local union office. Along with the money, they unexpectedly swipe evidence of union corruption and ties to organised crime syndicates. They find themselves wrestling with what to do with this newfound knowledge amidst both a union investigation of the crime and a federal agent's attempts to coerce Jerry into informing on union corruption. Deciding to use it for blackmail, the men discover instead how powerfully malevolent the union can be in a system that counts on petty divisiveness to keep the larger power structure intact.
Inspired by stories of real-life disillusionment, Schrader and his brother/co-writer Leonard Schrader took on politically difficult issues of race and corporate labour, infusing the indictment of unions with a suggestion of forces beyond the union and the company that keep workers in their place. From the opening sequence of the assembly line to the final evocative freeze-frame, the film maintains an atmosphere of gritty realism, with the lead trio lending low-key dramatic force to a situation beyond their control
The film is notable for its language, the street-level profanity and was shot on location at the Checker plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and at numerous locales around Detroit.
Wednesday 21st February 2007 at 7.30 for food, 8.00pm for film.
Only £4 including delicious veggie food at The Café Crema
306 New Cross Rd SE14
Bus: 53, 453, 177, 225,171, 172,136, 321,
Train and Tube: New Cross or New Cross Gate, DLR Deptford Bridge (10 min walk)
Flyer here:http://www.box.net/public/e41ypi6opj
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