Dave Turner

Ebla Mari

Claire Rodgerson

Trevor Fox

Chris McGlade

Col Tait

Jordan Louis

Chrissie Robinson

Chris Gotts

Jen Patterson

Arthur Oxley

Joe Armstrong

Andy Dawson

Maxie Peters

Rosa Crowley-Bennett

Bobby Beldrum

Amna Al Ali

Yazan Al Shteiwi

Diyaa Al Khalid

Rahaf H

Neil Leiper

Micky McGregor

Rhys Mcgowan

Reuben Bainbridge

Jack Staples

Ruby Bratton

Michelle Bell

Alex White

Debbie Honeywood

Mandy Foster

Joanne Hague

Debbie Cook

Chris Braxton

Jake Jarratt

Ali Mohamed

Diala

Iman Awad Hamdan

Hasna Hassoun

Rabia Hassoun

Sabah Hassoun

Rana Ihsan

Ahmad Ihsan

Imad Kanaan

Jamal Al Khalaf

Islam Al Khalid

Khuloud Mohammad Al Ali Lana

Anas Mahmoud

Moamar Mahmoud

Yousef Al Masri

Hadiya Al Salih

Jamila Al Salih

Abdelkafi Al Shteiwi

Hanidi Aba Zied

Cath Armstrong

Val Barron

Sarah Bryson

Paul Dent

Chris Fallows

Steve Fergus

Josh Hulley

Gary Kitching

Rob Kirtley

Abigail Lawson

Kika Markham

Aidan Pearn

Stuart Ramsay

Heather Wood

Andrea Johnson

Lloyd Mullings

Laura Lee Daly

Paul Laverty

Robbie Ryan

Ken Loach

Rebecca O'Brien

Olga Abramson

Jamie Hamer

Fergus Clegg

Jonathan Morris

Jo Slater

Sarah Gaunt

Kahleen Crawford

Ray Beckett

Lili Lea Abraham

La' Toyah McDonald

Martin Jones

Scott McIntyre

Eliza Heslop

Carla Morris

Grégoire Sorlat

Eimhear McMahon

Anita Brolly

Kevin Brazier

George Fenton

Vincent Maraval

Pascal Caucheteux

Jack Thomas-O'Brien

Drama

The Old Oak

Sixteen Films

Why Not Productions

BBC Film

Les Films du Fleuve

Goodfellas

France 2 Cinéma

Casa Kafka Pictures

Belgium

France

United Kingdom

English

العربية

Nederlands

small town

photographer

refugee

community

working class

sympathy

syrian refugee

north of england

migrants

empathetic

CinemaSerf

Set in a rapidly fading Northern English mining town, this tells the tale of an attempt to integrate some Syrian refugees fleeing the terror in their own country into a community that it still reeling from the systematic closure of their own livelihoods. Much of the story is based around the run-down "Old Oak" boozer which is run by the relatively open-minded "TJ" (Trevor Fox) who is pretty much a lone voice when it comes to welcoming these strangers to a place that's been devoid of investment - and hope - for many a year. Most of the locals see them fed and housed and, frankly, they resent it. Homes that they bought many years ago are now worth 20% of their former value, people and their families are trapped and their traditions and culture is dying. It's keen photographer "Tania" (Debbie Honeywood) who tries to bridge the cultural gap between the two peoples and eventually finds some like-minded folk who start to resurrect some of the practical solutions to the problems that this area faced during the turbulence of the miners' strikes of the 1980s. Unlike many of Ken Loach's other films, this is not an overtly political (anti-Thatcherite) statement. It's about the decline of a way of life, but set against a context of disaster and devastation faced by people fleeing something far more lethal and brutal. Indeed there is a positively celebratory scene where the Syrians are delighted to learn that their absent father/husband is not actually dead - he's just in a slum prison! The fact that these families are escaping something akin to the blitz doesn't lessen the resentment from some, though, and "TJ" is constantly trying to balance the needs of his customers/lifelong friends with his heartfelt desire to help these piteous homeless and stateless individuals. Despite the hostility on display at times, there is a pervading decency throughout this film and by the conclusion - which is not, in self, particularly conclusive - there is maybe just a little scope for optimism. If you enjoyed this film, check out "R.M.N" (2022) - a Romanian film doing the rounds just now that looks at this scenario from a different yet similar perspective and reminds us all, a little, of there but for the grace of god!

Brent Marchant

A lack of familiarity can produce so many needless problems, especially when it involves individuals about whom we know little or nothing. That lack of understanding can consequently yield issues that plainly aren’t warranted and, more importantly, can be easily dispensed with by simply taking the time to find common ground. Such is the case in what is said to be the final film from legendary director Ken Loach, who tells the story of a group of Syrian refugees who relocate and settle in an economically depressed former coal mining town in northern England. The locals, who themselves are struggling to get by, are far from welcoming to the new arrivals, who have essentially lost everything and are merely looking for a place to start over. In many respects, both constituencies have much in common, but their unfamiliarity with one another gets in the way, leading to friction between them, especially on the part of the town’s long-term residents, who feel they’re being crowded out and left behind. But hope is not lost, thanks to the efforts of the owner (Dave Turner) of the community’s principal local meeting place, a rundown pub called The Old Oak. He befriends one of the new arrivals, a young woman and would-be photographer (Ebla Mari), who manages to ingratiate herself into the lives of the barkeep and many other local residents. Their connection is not without its challenges, but the solidarity that emerges from it helps bring people together who might not do so otherwise. The style of filmmaking and narrative themes in this offering are classic Loach, recalling many of the works this prolific director has made for nearly 60 years, and, in many ways, it feels like the perfect send-off for this thought-provoking artist. Some story elements are, admittedly, rather predictable, and the ending feels somewhat truncated and abrupt, with a few story threads that aren’t fully resolved. Nevertheless, the filmmaker has made the kind of parting statement here that he’s been making in his other noteworthy works about the perils of the downtrodden, the need to help them and the necessity for fostering an intrinsic sense of fairness in the lives of us all. And what better way is there for a talent like Loach to say his last goodbye.

Ken Loach on The Old Oak | BFI Q&A

STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS: THE PODCAST - The Old Oak with director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty

The Old Oak( 2023)

It's not where you're from, it's what you bring.

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A review by CinemaSerf

Written by CinemaSerf on Sun Oct 08 2023

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