Veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach's latest work, "Sorry We Missed You," which opened in Japan recently, is about the gig economy, the new employment environment surrounding companies like the ride-sharing service Uber that don't so much hire people as give them access to users.
Loach's film focuses on an English couple and their two children. The father becomes a franchisee for a delivery company that, despite its insistence he is an independent agent, penalizes him for late deliveries and absences. The mother is a freelance caregiver, who works ungodly hours more out of conscience than out of any monetary gain.
"Sorry We Missed You" is a scathing indictment of late stage capitalism, especially as it impacts a country such as the United Kingdom, where once sturdy social structures are collapsing. In Loach's estimation, the gig economy provides the perfect theme for what is essentially a libertarian horror movie.