By Gary

Master of social commentary Ken Loach tackles immigration, northern decline and racism in swan song The Old Oak.

The future for the last remaining pub, The Old Oak, in a village of Northeast England, where people are leaving the land as the mines are closed.

Houses are cheap and available, thus making it an ideal location for Syrian refugees.

Ken Loach brings us another super real movie that tackles real world issues that a lot would shy away from.

Yes some of this film is really hard to watch and it highlights the worst in human behaviour and social issues.

The Old Oak (2023) is reportedly the 87-year-old filmmaker’s swan song and it’s arguably one of his most hopeful films to date – especially when compared to his other recent pictures, I, Daniel Blake (2016) and Sorry We Missed You (2019).

That’s not to imply that this social realist call to action shies away from breaking your heart, lovers of a certain animal may just explode into a shower of tears thanks to a certain shocking scene, nor does it present itself as an overly idealised version of modern Britain.

Loach still loathes the state of things and puts the blame solely on those in power (the only place it can sensibly lie), and he often uses his characters to espouse the ideals he so clearly holds close to his own heart.

At the same time, though, there’s an undercurrent of community and solidarity that is never fully stomped out by the racism, xenophobia and general bigotry on display by the story’s least sympathetic characters.

The narrative explores the events that unfold when a group of Syrian refugees are placed in a poverty-stricken village in the North of England that has essentially been left to rot, showcasing the disgusting resistance they’re met with after they’ve escaped a warzone and have been brought to one of the richest countries in the world only to find that people are having to choose between heating their homes and feeding their kids.

It posits that the refugees and the unwelcoming community they’re integrated with have more similarities than differences, and that it’s only the worst members of the community that can’t come to accept that.

In fact, their ignorant attitudes hurt everyone in the village. The racism and xenophobia that is brought out of the protagonist’s once friends is always extremely uncomfortable to sit through, and the film does a good job in making sure that it never even comes close to excusing – or, worse, sharing – these harmful attitudes.

After a certain point, you’ve constantly got your guard up and anticipate some form of racially-motivated conflict at every turn, which – in some small way – puts you in the same position as its Syrian characters and further increases your empathy for them.

Overall, I do recommend this but don’t go in expecting something uplifting in any way.

The Old Oak is a very powerful and sometimes hard watch, that is probably the most real-life movie you will see this year.

My Rating: 8/10