“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. The self-proclaimed final film from celebrated British writer-director Ken Loach, as well as the concluding chapter of his Northeast England trilogy (following I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You) The Old Oak offers a deeply compassionate portrait of a community in crisis and moving plea for solidarity and understanding.” -Zeitgeist Films
