Over the years I have seen many of Ken Loach's gritty social(ist) realism films. The Old Oak is probably his last. Once again he takes a cast of amateurs and plops them in a former mining village to tell a story of working class life. The script is by his long-time collaborator Paul Laverty.
What makes The Old Oak standout is the addition of a healthy dose of sentimentality. I don't remember shedding a tear at a Ken Loach film since 'Kes' . Have a box of tissues to hand when you watch this unlikely story of a pub landlord forging a bond with a group of Syrian refugees "bussed" into a former Durham mining village by TPTB without any consultation or warning to the local community.
Ken gives voice to the racists who are the children of scabs who had returned to work during the 1984-85 Miners strike. He also gives voice to homeowners whose property values are destroyed by foreign property speculators.
The main focus is the relationship between the pub landlord TJ, and Yarra who is the spokesperson for the Syrian families. She speaks good english (learnt while acting as a translator in a refugee hospital) and takes great photographs until her camera is smashed by a Scottish thug in a Newcastle shirt (isnae Jazzer from "The Archers").
Then there is the little dog... and of course the Miners Strike as captured in B&W photos by a young TJ but locked away in the back room.
Apart from a couple of scenes the amatuer actors do a great job of breathing life into the characters they portray. The "baddies" all have previous experience acting for Ken.
Big thank you to South Norwood Community Kitchen for arranging free screening.
What makes The Old Oak standout is the addition of a healthy dose of sentimentality. I don't remember shedding a tear at a Ken Loach film since 'Kes' . Have a box of tissues to hand when you watch this unlikely story of a pub landlord forging a bond with a group of Syrian refugees "bussed" into a former Durham mining village by TPTB without any consultation or warning to the local community.
Ken gives voice to the racists who are the children of scabs who had returned to work during the 1984-85 Miners strike. He also gives voice to homeowners whose property values are destroyed by foreign property speculators.
The main focus is the relationship between the pub landlord TJ, and Yarra who is the spokesperson for the Syrian families. She speaks good english (learnt while acting as a translator in a refugee hospital) and takes great photographs until her camera is smashed by a Scottish thug in a Newcastle shirt (isnae Jazzer from "The Archers").
Then there is the little dog... and of course the Miners Strike as captured in B&W photos by a young TJ but locked away in the back room.
Apart from a couple of scenes the amatuer actors do a great job of breathing life into the characters they portray. The "baddies" all have previous experience acting for Ken.
Big thank you to South Norwood Community Kitchen for arranging free screening.