Like another movie I reviewed recently (One Life), the content of this one is very relevant to current happenings in this crazy world! One Life covered the constant issue of anti-Semitism, The Old Oak anti-Islam.
This movie relates to the influx of refugees into societies very set in their ways and who, themselves, are struggling to survive. It is set in a small community in Northern England where the closure of mines has decimated the economy and their tight-knit way of life. Many people have left the area in search of greener pastures and property prices have plummeted to a fraction of their former price. Consequently, vacant properties are being bought and allocated to refugees – in this case from Syria – much to the chagrin of the locals.
Their anger is further fuelled when they see the new-comers getting handouts of clothing, food and toys – donated by the public. One of the refugees, Yara (Ebla Mari), can speak excellent English so becomes translator and mediator for the new residents. After her camera, which has special significance for Yara, is smashed by one of the angry young locals, TJ (Dave Turner) offers to pay to get it fixed for her. He runs the local pub The Old Oak and Yara gets the Syrians to support the struggling pub – much to the disgust of a few of the hard-core regulars who are blatantly Islamophobic!
The film touches on many facets of life faced my refugees all over the world. We see insights into the psyche of the Syrians who have fled their war-torn home with next to nothing. Their father’s whereabouts are unknown, but they hope that he is a prisoner somewhere and not dead. At one stage we see Yara’s brother watching a video on his tablet of locals running from their bomb-ravaged homes carrying a dead child – exactly what we see on the news every night from Gaza right now. Her brother is also attacked and beaten by local lads on his way to school, which is recorded on a phone! Later we see the above-mentioned hard-cores watching the footage and saying that the poor Syrian must have provoked the attack, and defended their own kids’ actions. The customary terms we still hear in some places today: “rag-heads”, “if you can’t speak our language, go back to where you came from”, etc. are filtered into the dialogue.
With the Syrian support of The Old Oak and other community events, the locals (with the exception of the few hard-core) soon learn that the newcomers are actually good for the community and the local economy. The refugees work hard to help the struggling locals with food and other support, utilising a long-lost slogan from the mining days: “When you eat together, you stick together”.
A lot of thought-provoking and some confronting content is provided throughout the film. Given what is happening to Muslims fleeing the horrors of Gaza at the moment, it is worth taking in this wonderfully produced movie, and see the plight of refugees from both sides of the fence. The movie was produced by Ken Loach, who at 87, says it will be his last – so this makes it even more compelling to see!
Movie Review by John Glennie
Showing at Palace Cinemas and Event Marion now…
Rating: MA 15+
Runtime: 113 minutes
