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The Old Oak
May 13, 2024 2:00 PM
TJ Ballantyne runs a pub called The Last Oak in a village in Northeast England, but the future is uncertain, as some people leave the land following the closure of the mines. Houses are cheap and available, thus making it an ideal location for the Syrian refugees. TJ soon becomes fast friends with a Syrian refugee and as Syrians begin to frequent the pub, it causes a rift between the newcomers and old-timers. Proceeds to the Cancer Assistance Program.
Ghent International Film Festival: Won Best Film
Locarno International Film Festival: Won Prix du Public
Palm Springs International Film Festival: Special Mention - Bridging the Borders Award
Valladolid Film Festival: Won Best Actor and Best Audience Award
Cinefest Sudbury: Won Audience Award
Palic Film Festival: Won Audience Award
Calgary International Film Festival: Won Audience Award (Special Presentations)
The Old Oak is the last pub standing in a once thriving mining village in northern England, a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. There is growing anger, resentment, and a lack of hope among the residents, but the pub and its proprietor TJ are a fond presence to their customers. When a group of Syrian refugees move into the floundering village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudices develops between the community and its newest inhabitants. The formation of an unexpected friendship between TJ and a young Syrian woman named Yara opens up new possibilities for the divided village in this deeply moving drama about loss, fear, and the difficulty of finding hope. Directed and co-written by legendary British director Ken Loach (I Daniel Blake, The Angels' Share, Sorry We Missed You, Kes, The Wind That Shakes the Barley) Loach, who is 87 years old, has announced that The Old Oak will be his final film.
It's as engrossing, thoughtful, heartfelt, angry, hopeful, and altogether valuable as his best work. If it is indeed Loach's farewell, it's one hell of a fine note to go out on. Matt Soller Seitz/RogerEbert.com
In place of magical thinking and a happy ending, The Old Oak serves up something harder: a meditation on hope. Alissa Wilkinson/NY Times
An intimate but ambitiously mounted ensemble piece, The Old Oak ranks among Loach’s foremost state-of-the-nation dramas. Jonathan Romney/Screen Daily
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