I, Daniel Blake is about the struggles of an ailing common man against the labyrinthine welfare bureaucracy to get that elusive 'employment and support allowance.'

Whichever side you come down on, Johns' and Squires' low-key performances are impressive, and the technological/red-tape hurdles their characters face feel stingingly accurate.

Politically, of course, it cleaves to the left, yet by temperament it shrinks from progress.

It’s no surprise Loach made a film that delivers such an emotional yet truthful pummeling. After all, he’s been neglecting to pull his punches since the late 1960s.