The Old Oak

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2:15

The Old Oak

Released Apr 5, 2024

1h 53m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

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96 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

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 release of The Old Oak reunites legendary British director Ken Loach with Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber following our 2020 release of his film Sorry We Missed You. Loach, who is 87 years old, has announced that The Old Oak will be his final film.

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Critics Consensus

Imbued with the fiercely humanistic spirit that has defined Ken Loach's filmography, The Old Oak serves as a fitting -- albeit somewhat sentimental -- finale to a remarkable career.

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Christina Newland

iNews.co.uk

Loach and his screenwriter Paul Lavery are sometimes painfully on-the-nose, borderline parodic, in their contrived kitchen sink sensibilities.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 18, 2024

Full Review

Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

The final scene of “The Old Oak” reduced me, once again and for the final time, to tears.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 14, 2024

Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

It is unmistakably a Loach film: taciturn yet forthright, examining life in the cracks of a fractured society with deep compassion, plain-spoken anger and, perhaps more so than in the previous two films, a shot of hope.

Rated: 3/4

May 3, 2024

Full Review

Dave Giannini

Geek Vibes Nation

The Old Oak never makes the mistake of allowing its characters to play the hero in a Hollywood way. Ebla Mari, in her film debut, handles a great deal of dialogue and emotional work with aplomb.

Rated: 9/10

Jul 19, 2025

Full Review

Maxance Vincent

Film Speak

As far as a final film goes, whereas Loach’s previous movies were far bleaker and angrier, ending his lengthy career on such a positive, uplifting note seems alright.

Rated: B+

Jul 14, 2025

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Inspiring story in which a town of unemployed miners and a group of Syrian refugees discover how big is their we.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 9, 2025

Full Review

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Deborah

Fabulous, tear-jerky, heart-warming

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/15/24

Full Review

Roy J

This is what the art of filmmaking is all about. To empathize with characters you've never encountered before. I hope Ken Loach doesn't retire because he's still got it!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/17/24

Full Review

Michael Antony A

Mikey’s Film Review: The Old Oak (2023) Set in 2016, The Old Oak, the third film in director Ken Loach’s unofficial trilogy of films set in austerity-era North East England (which includes I, Daniel Blake (2016) and Sorry We Missed You (2019), is poignant, compassionate and a touch predictable. In his final film, he draws parallels between Syrian war refugees and the local residents of a once thriving mining town. When resentment and rivalry between the regular working class folk who have next to nothing, and the ‘newcomers’ that seem to get everything given to them threatens to destroy the community, only an unlikely friendship between the local landlord and a young photographer stand in the way. A bond that might be the spark of hope the town needs to move forward… The cast of trained and unskilled actors together with screenwriter Paul Laverty’s smart script, grounds the documentary styled realism and believability, supported by two oustanding performances from Dave Turner and Ebla Mari. The cinematography by Robbie Ryan is superb too. Warmly capturing the films themes of history, photography, loss and friendship. It’s fairly bleak (with moments of tenderness and warm humour) and rarely pulls punches and while the sentimental, neatly resolved ending doesn’t quite land, its heart like all of Loach’s films is once again most definitely in the right place. Mikey’s Film Rating: 4/5*

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/03/25

Full Review

andrea c

Altro spaccato sociale interessante e ben strutturato del regista che per eccellenza riesce a trattare questi temi con concretezza e senza illusioni. Ken Loach dirige un film che si basa fortemente sui dialoghi e che forse per questo motivo subisce leggermente l'abilità non eccelsa di alcuni attori che faticano ad esprimere con costanza i loro sentimenti. La trama è lineare ma comunque interessante e come sempre nei film del regista offre un finale agrodolce che rispecchia a pieno la realtà della vita. Sorprende invece sempre la capacità del regista di colpire il cuore senza pure l'utilizzo di immagini forti ma soltanto evocando i sentimenti più teneri e dolci con la visione di sequenze semplici come una macchina fotografica che si rompe o un uomo che immerge i piedi nell'acqua del mare.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/08/25

Full Review

John K

A childlike film about immigration, bag of shite, sorry Ken

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

Full Review

D M

Some films make you laugh, some entertain you, some warm your heart. Sometimes a film can change your viewpoint Superb stuff.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

Full Review

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The Old Oak: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

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 release of The Old Oak reunites legendary British director Ken Loach with Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber following our 2020 release of his film Sorry We Missed You. Loach, who is 87 years old, has announced that The Old Oak will be his final film.

Director: Ken Loach
Producer: Rebecca O'Brien, Pascal Caucheteux
Screenwriter: Paul Laverty, Paul Laverty
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
Production Co: BBC Film, Les Films du Fleuve, Sixteen Films, Why Not Productions, StudioCanal UK
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 4, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $229.7K
Runtime: 1h 53m

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