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The navigators

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The navigators follows the fortunes of a group of rail track workers based at a south Yorkshire depot, as the privatisation of British Rail takes effect. When Harpic (Sean Glenn), the depot boss, gives Paul (Joe Duttine), Mick (Thomas Craig) and the rest of the gang their new working brief - the company's mission statement - performance related pay and unpaid holidays seem like a joke. But before long, the choice is very clear to the gang: take their chances with redundancy cash and life as casual agency workers, or work for the new company under the new rules...

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

  • Film drama UK England train redundancy British Rail Yorkshire track work

Persons of interest

  • Dean Andrews .... John
  • Steve Huison .... Jim
  • Venn Tracey .... Gerry
  • Andy Swallow .... Len
  • Charlie Brown .... Jack
  • Juliet Bates .... Fiona
  • John Aston .... Bill Walters
  • Graham Heptinstall .... Owen
  • Angela Saville .... Tracy
  • Clare McSwain .... Lisa
  • Megan Topham .... Chloe
  • Abigail Pearson .... Eve
  • Charlotte Hukin .... Rose
  • Jamie Widowson .... Michael
  • Andy Oldham .... Picop
  • Nigel Harrison .... Will Hemmings
  • Charles Armstrong .... John Wilson
  • Rob Dawber .... Screenwriter
  • Ken Loach .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

If you have been lucky enough to see My name is Joe you will find in The navigators some of the same hard-edged themes:

  • the small, working man at the mercy of big bosses,
  • the inherent greed of capitalism overcoming any sense of humanity,
  • the working class trying desperately to keep their lives together,
  • families torn asunder by the rigours of poverty,
  • the humour of the damned.
What makes the two films so different is the move from a single lead to an ensemble cast. A lead character gives one strong flavour to the whole film but having many different stories to follow is like an all you can eat buffet: savoury here, sweet there and sour over there. Mmm... buffet....

The navigators is a slow moving drama that nevertheless draws you in with its romantically scruffy characters and tragically inevitable storyline. There's nothing like being at the bottom of the food chain to make life more difficult.

Security censorship classification

M (Medium level coarse language, low level sex scene)

Surveillance time

93 minutes (1:33 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

Film: 8 August 2002 - General
Film:15 August 2002 - Melbourne

Cinema surveillance images

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Special note about Rob Dawber
Rob Dawber, writer and railwayman, died on 20 February 2001. The cause of his death was mesothelioma, a cancer contracted while working with asbestos on the railways.

An internal management memorandum revealed that, although workers were being continually exposed to lethal asbestos, it was considered to be too expensive to remove it all or to educate them in the ways of handling it.

It was a bitter victory for Rob when he established in court that his employers were to blame for his illness.

Rob fought the cancer with typical courage and lived much longer than the doctors expected. He was present throughout the shooting of the film and saw the final cut. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.

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