Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, his final film, explores the migrant crisis–Syria refugees–in a struggling mining town.
The movie opens in Los Angeles on Friday, April 12 at the Laemmle’s Claremont, Glendale, Town Center, and Royal.
Loach’s 28th feature follows a once-vibrant mining town’s response to the arrival of a group of Syrian refugees.
TJ, the amiable proprietor of the titular pub – the last meeting point left in town – struggles to keep his more narrow-minded local clientele amid prejudice as he befriends these new residents, in particular a Syrian photographer, Yara.
As expected of Loach, his film offers compassionate voice to the oppressed – both the Syrian migrants as well as the out-of-work locals.
Old Oak is the concluding chapter of his highly acclaimed Northeast England trilogy, following I, Daniel Black, which won the Cannes Fest Palme d’Or, and Sorry We Missed You, a weaker work.
The Old Oak premiered In Competition at the 2023 Cannes Film Fest and was nominated for Outstanding British Film at the 2024 BAFTA Awards.
His self-proclaimed final film ends a significant career that began over six decades ago as one of the most prominent contributors to British cinema.
