Other posts on the topic

http://cnme-form12e.blogspot.com

My personal feelings- Karin

“ It’s a free world “ is a very shocking and impressing movie, because of its plot and because of the way life facts are beeing presented.
The film focuses on Angie, a working class woman who, after being fired by the agency that she works for, decides to set up an agency of her own, running it from her kitchen with her friend Rose. Taking advantage of the desperation of recent Polish immigrants, Angie is able to build a successful business extremely quickly.
Despite Rose's misgivings, Angie becomes increasingly eager to build the business, regardless of the potential legal risks of obtaining forged British passports for illegal immigrants, and working without a license for the first few months of the business.
First, I liked this movie very much because of the way it was made. It was very captivating, although the lines were very difficult to follow. The structure of the movie was very well adjusted so that you couldn’t stop watching, in spite the fact that you couldn’t always understand all the conversations.
Secondly, the plot was very realistic which added an extreme flavour to the whole movie. People blinded by money, like Angie, are to be seen every day in every place of the Earth. But, some of the know that there is a limit they mustn’t pass or their life will be a living hell, like Angie’s became after not paying the illegal workers.
Thirdly, I noticed that the movie gave a life lesson to us, the viewers. I interpreted it like this: money isn’t the most important thing in life, you shouldn’t destroy your life with illegal business, in case you already entered that circle you’d better stop, because these business might cause harm to you or your family.
So this movie impressed me, although it was a very sad one, because no one likes to see real dramatic life facts presented in movies, through its plot, presentation and cast. I think it really deserves all the prizes it has got.

It's a Free World

At the begining of the film, Angie, a thirty year old woman, is working for a recruitment agency. She is fired because she refuses her boss’s sexual advances. So, she decides to create her own temporary work agency. However with her friend Rose, she is so desperate to make as much money as possible and to pay back the money she owes, she decides to break the law, not to pay taxes and not to have a licence. She meets professionals who offer casual work to her employees paid on an hourly basis. When her business starts, she refuses to employ workers who don’t have English papers. Later she wants to help an Iranian family who are political refugees in the UK. After a conversation with a business director, she realizes that hiring political refugees who don’t have papers could make her earn a lot of money and very quickly. So she becomes greedier and greedier throughout the film : for example she decides to rent rooms to her workers with the idea of putting as many people as she can in a room ; another example is she calls the immigration authorities to have families thrown off a caravan site so that she can have a place to accommodate her workers. Her greed creates problems for her. One of the professionals for whom she found temporary workers can’t pay her, meaning Angie’s unable to pay her employees. Some of them want to gain revenge hurting her or burgling her flat when she is present. At the end of the film, she has her own office and she goes back to Eastern Europe, this time to The Ukraine, with the aim of recruiting more workers.

After the film, there was a debate with two women who work for the association Amnesty International. This association helps political refugees who arrive in France without papers. The two women explained to us the situation these refugees have to face. For example, they are in a country where they don’t speak the language and they have no right to have papers. They are afraid of being picked up by the police and sent back to their homeland. The two women told us that in many cases, they will be persecuted or killed if they go back there. In African cultures, coming back home is a failure and it means shame. So, many refugees who have a very bad situation in Europe can’t go back to their country. One of the Romanian students wondered why these people continue to come to Europe where they live in misery, can’t find a job and don’t have a life really better than in their countries. The two volontary workers answered that they have the hope to manage to live with dignity in those countries that claim to protect human rights.

I was very surprised by the film because I saw the trailer a few months ago and I minsunderstood it. So, during all the begining of the film, I thougt that Angie wanted to help the refugees giving them a chance to work. But I was disappointed seing that Angie’s character is greedy and ready to do the worst in order to earn money and offer a good life to her son. I wondered what I would do if I was her. And I’m quite sure that I would not have done horrible things like helping people, then denouncing them to the immigration authorities (like she did with Mahmoud’s family). I can’t bear the contempt she has for human values. I think the film denounces the loss of these values and I agree with Ken Loach on this point. However I confess I didn’t like the film beacause I found it very pessimistic for the refugees, like for Angie. She hasn’t any moral values. She’s very determined and makes a lot of effort to earn money, after having been fired many times, but she can’t manage to have what she want. At the end the refugees who were cheated manage to take back all the money she owed them. There is some justice in this but on the other hand this lesson doesn’t teach her anything and she continues to look for workers in Eastern Europe (this time outside the European Union) and to be totally unprincipled.

Dissemination activity

TL+ Baia Mare
December 10th
"Esential educatia"
Moderator:
Camelia Rus
Participants:
Mariana Hudrea
Ioan Tiplea
Adrian Andreica

It's a Free World

The film will pe presented to the first group of students from the 12th A, from Eminescu College , tomorrow morning.
Form teacher: Ana Man

Adrian Andreica , Romania

During a full week spent in France I had a new, interesting, experience that made me remember it for the rest of my life because such wonderful memories and pleasant life experiences guide you through a better understanding of different nations, cultures and communities.
The first thing I noticed while I was hosted by a French family was that the parents have a close relationship with their children and the bond between them is very strong. I integrated very fast in the family and I appreciated the fact that they really liked my presence there and treated me as their own child.
Families form a country and to know its ways and traditions I strongly believe that you have to live the kind of experience that I did. Joy and happiness are only a couple of words which describe the atmosphere at school and in the family. We also worked quite a lot and achieved many objectives. It was a win-win situation between me and the French partner that hosted me because we practiced our English and I also practiced my French.
I also could see the way students spend their week at school, their study schedule and free time which is a bit different from ours.
The project activities were very exciting and brought me tons of information that already proves very useful.
Every day I spent in France was full of excitement and I feel that every day learnt something new about the French people’s behavior and traditions. By visiting the important towns I formed an opinion about French architects and structures.
Another amazing thing was that we participated in a conference with a former illegal immigrant and he shared with us what he had to face to become a French citizen and we discussed what could be done in the matter of immigrants and emigration.
Day after day I began to like it more and more and I really felt like at home. I was enjoying all the activities and the field trips. I met French, German, Polish and Turkish students who became good friends of mine and I hope I’ll meet them again. Travelling conditions were excellent and I enjoyed the flights.
Overall the project trip was a total success in my opinion and I’m looking forward to welcoming the partners into our school in Romania and to have them taste a bit of our traditions and moral fibers.

Adrian Andreica, Baia Mare, RO