Raining stones

Set on a council estate in Middleton on the outskirts of Manchester, “Raining Stones” is an uncompromising look at England’s poorest citizens in a country where unemployment has created an alienated underclass and bred petty crime, vandalism, drug abuse and poverty. Already barely making ends meet, Bob supports his family by doing odd jobs. When his only asset, his van, is stolen, the family’s prospects become even grimmer. Now unemployed he is still determined to find the money to buy a new communion dress for his daughter’s first communion - even if it means turning to crime. Without ever mentioning politics, Loach makes a powerful and effective political statement about the way economic policies destroy social coherence. (Awards: Winner of the Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, 1993)