The Old Oak

Local pub The Old Oak had long been the meeting place in a small North Country former mining town. But with the sudden arrival of a group of Syrian refugees, the habits and certainties of the locals are shaken up. Two communities in pain, one suffering from the trauma of war and exile, the other, from social deprivation, gradually come to terms with one another as the story unfolds. Poignant, restrained, sharply observed, The Old Oak — Loach’s self-avowed swan song — caps a legendary career of some 40 films, most of which are devoted to those who’ve been left behind by the capitalist system. A powerful lesson in courage and openness. (FNC)