Stars: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, David McKay, Gary Lewis, Anne Marie Kennedy

Director: Ken Loach

Summary: A former alcoholic who is currently out of work keeps himself busy by coaching a footabll team in Glasgow. When one of his players becomes involved with local gangsters their lives are changed forever.

Peter Mullan (ORPHANS, MISS JULIE) won the Best Actor award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for his performance as Joe Kavanagh, a recovering alcoholic in his late thirties. Like half the people in his impoverished Glasgow neighborhood, he's unemployed and struggles to get by between odd jobs and the dole, along with coaching a ragtag soccer team largely consisting of delinquents. As difficult as his life may seem, he's buoyed by a willed optimism that he realizes is the only alternative to reverting to his addiction. When he's caught by a niggling unemployment official while doing the odd wallpapering job for social worker-nurse Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), she helps to keep him from losing his sinecure. The two soon begin a tentative relationship, but Joe remains connected to his former life through his young friend Liam (David McKay), an ex-con and former addict. Mullan is utterly believable as another of social realist director Ken Loach's characters attempting to negotiate the tough climate of 1980s Great Britain.

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Barbra Streisand's first television special was My Name Is Barbra(April 14, 1965), shot shortly after she played in Funny Girl. Shot in black and white, it's a little different from the other variety shows of the day (e.g., The Judy Garland Show) in that there's no parade of guest stars or dancing girls. That's a good thing, as those are the numbers that get dated very quickly. Instead, we have all Barbra, even if she's more comfortable singing than doing comedy monologues. The show winds its way through an Alice in Wonderland sequence which ends in a plain but magnificent rendition of "People," then has Streisand in a store's fur department. Last is a simple concert setting that includes a Funny Girlmedley with "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "The Music that Makes Me Dance." The closing concert segment would become a staple, and the peak, of all her shows. --David Horiuchi

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interviews, Theatrical Trailer, Interactive Menus, Scene Index
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1998
Release Date:	May 1, 2002
Runtime:	100 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 8996
Label:	Film Four Distributors
Keywords:	Joe, Name, General, Wide, Screen, My, Drama
Genre:	Drama