The Old Oak: Ken Loach's Bittersweet Farewell

Release Date：Apr/5/2024

Genre：Drama

Director：Ken Loach

Cast：Dave Turner、Ebla Mari、Claire Rodgerson、Trevor Fox、Chris McGlade、Col Tait

Viola's Rating：7.4

British director and screenwriter Ken Loach has announced that his latest feature film, The Old Oak, is probably his final call behind the monitor. The 87-year-old director’s walk away film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be released limited in the US on April 5, 2024.

Set and shot in the northeast of England, the plot of The Old Oak tells the future of the last remaining pub of the titular name. People are leaving County Durham as the mines are closed. Houses there are available and cheap; therefore, they are ideal locations for Syrian refugees. The story of the flick is about what happens at The Old Oak after the refugees come here.

Although Director Loach’s motion pictures often focus on humanity, homelessness, labor rights and poverty, the ending of The Old Oak is a little bit way too cliché. In order to highlight humanity, a bunch of extras are brought up in one of the last scenes. Most of these characters aren’t seen during the movie, so the audience won’t be able to feel how their attitudes change or how their lives have been different because of the protagonists. Therefore, the characters’ actions seem purposeful instead of spontaneous.

As Director Loach believes that human beings are good-hearted no matter what, protagonists in The Old Oak are each other’s salvation just like how Director Loach hopes the picture could be the salvation of modern society. How the leading actor gives hope to the refugees is exactly the same as how his dog saves his life. It’s indeed a deeply moving feature film.

Director Loach conveyed the issues of the present day perfectly, especially refugee-related topics. The Old Oak discusses the problems these refugees face after they move to England, including bullying, discrimination, poverty and the whereabouts of their family members back home. What the film delivers is very true to the residents’ lives, and it provokes people to ponder the current situation.

Similar to the Irish flick, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Old Oak also depicts that people in rural areas in Great Britain value their social space, the pub, very much. Even when it’s as early as the afternoon, people who have nothing to do would gather at the pub, and problems emerge from here in both motion pictures.

When moviegoers follow the protagonists to tackle these problems, our hearts start to go to TJ, the owner of The Old Oak, and then it’s a pity that we don’t get to know more about his past and what makes him who he is today, which makes the movie feel incomplete.

Even though The Old Oak may seem a little bit too optimistic, and it provides a sad ambiance at the same time, it’s still an amazing picture worth watching.

Picture Credit: Proview Enterprises Inc.