This afternoon, I ventured into the city centre by bus - specially to see the latest Ken Loach film - "The Old Oak" and I must say that I am very glad that I bothered. It may well be Loach's last film for he will be 88 years old next year. As a lifelong socialist, he has never sold out in his film-making - picking unusual stories that faithfully portray the working class with dignity and compassion. His characters are never caricatures.
"The Old Oak" is set in a deprived former coal mining village in the north east of England. Tensions occur between longstanding residents and Syrian refugees who have come to live amongst them after fleeing from warfare and internal strife in their home country.
At the heart of the drama are two people played by actors who were plucked from obscurity by Ken Lcach himself. There's T.J. Ballantyne, the landlord of the rundown "Old Oak" pub, played by a former fire fighter called Dave Turner and a young woman from the Syrian community called Yara played by middle school drama teacher Ebla Mari.
It is through them that the two groups come together and in spite of mutual poverty and suspicion, hope and togetherness are born. Ultimately, there's a bright upbeat message to this emotionally genuine film which contains many moving moments that I freely admit brought tears to my eyes.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/wtuH8eZ
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