Riff-Raff

1991
7| 1h35m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 12 February 1993 Released
Producted By: Parallax Pictures
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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Stevie, fresh from prison in Scotland, finds a job on a London construction site. The working conditions are poor and most of the men are working under aliases, due to immigration status and to not conflict with their "signing on" for unemployment benefits. Some coworkers help Stevie secure housing, squatting in a council estate. Then Stevie meets Susan, from Ireland, who's struggling to be a professional singer.

Genre

Drama, Comedy

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Director

Ken Loach

Production Companies

Parallax Pictures

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Riff-Raff Audience Reviews

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story
Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
ShangLuda Admirable film.
Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.
sparkss-11610 Well what can I say? this film is appalling, the acting is putrid(particularly the Irish character who appears to forget her characters role mid way through the film) apart from Robert Carlyle as the Scottish character is quite good among other smaller big name roles who then made a name for themselves either prior or afterwards otherwise this movie is terrible with major plot-points not being revealed, unnecessary scenes, bad gags and bad script-writing as if they just improvised. Besides to that it was wrote in memory of some one if this was made in tribute of me, I must have really been hated or a terrible script- writer if this was the fruit of my labour! All in all I think my review is suitable for a film of this caliber Q.E.D
mvassa71 This unpretentious British indie film is a rough diamond in the rough. It chronicles the lives of a handful of blue collar workers trying to survive in early 90's London. It's almost documentary in style and narrative, which lends a feeling of authenticity, which is helped also by fine performances all around. Shows the humor, frustration and dashed dreams in an unforgiving society, and it has heart. It is at times funny, heart wrenching, and touching. The accents are thick, so you may appreciate the subtitles that are on some versions. I found them distracting, so I put some tape over the bottom of the screen. I had to strain a few times to understand, but I don't think the subtitles were necessary. Well worth a watch.
Rocky-UK Riff Raff is one of Loach's more humorous depictions of working class life. That said it's still not comedy, it a melodrama with political overtones.What it's really about is the collapse of the working classes due to the Thatcherite policies introduced in the 1980's. The collapse of the power of the trade unions and the incorporation of capitalisation and 'big business'.These workers are struggling to live below the breadline, working in unsafe conditions and squatting wherever they can.It's a tragedy of circumstance really but there are moments of romance and humour provided mostly by Ricky Tomlinson. Taking a bath in a show house. Hilarious.
Doctor_Bombay In some ways I felt as though I'd died and gone to heaven the first time I saw Riff Raff, an out and out honest look at working class men of varied, and sometimes dubious, backgrounds connected through their work on a construction sight in London.The cast of characters defines the term 'mixed bag'. I couldn't help but think of a half dozen or so Archie Bunkers on the job site, each one with their own set of priorities, talking about the most important thing in the world, to no one but himself. It all brings a smile to my face.Our closest look is at Stevie (Robert Carlyle of "The Full Monty"), a former petty thief, who works with a crew converting condos for the nouveau riche, while he's forced to break into an abandoned building just to find a place to squat.Director Ken Loach expertly focuses on the lower class in Britain (witness his brilliant 1999 feature-"My Name is Joe") where the honesty laced with humor of his viewpoint tends to provide humanity to an otherwise ignored sect. To shine a bit of light on an otherwise dismal existence as it may.Loach's characters are never overly redemptive: they don't hit the lottery; aren't left millions by a dead aunt; or marry a rich suitor. And the ending here is a bit short, trite. But they usually come through the film a little stronger having weathered their travails, feeling a little better about themselves. I dare say we come through feeling a little better about ourselves as well.