The Old Oak Drama/Fiction - Film

The Old Oak is the new film from two-time Golden Palm winner Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You). The British filmmaker delivers another strong social drama set in the working class of contemporary England. Sincere, hopeful and topical.

In a former mining town stands: The Old Oak, the last pub of the now dilapidated town in northern England. The locals can barely keep their own heads above water and see their hometown becoming more and more empty. Landlord TJ silently listens to his grumbling regulars. When the pub is also threatened with closure, the housing of Syrian refugees in the town causes additional unrest. But an unlikely friendship gently brings the different worlds together, with The Old Oak as their shared centerpiece. In The Old Oak, hope glimmers in the realization that we must do things together after all. For The Old Oak, Loach once again collaborated with his regular screenwriter Paul Laverty. The film was selected for the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. 'Ken Loach's last fierce appeal for compassion and solidarity'.

4 stars - The Guardian.