It wouldn’t be amiss to think the title THE OLD OAK is a bio pic of the venerable Ken Loach. At 86, Loach is still making films, great films, films with humanity, hope and healing. His latest, THE OLD OAK is a masterpiece of resilience, reconciliation and optimism.

The Old Oak of the title is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, it is the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once thriving mining community that is now on the bare bones of its arse after 30 years of decline.

TJ Ballantyne, the landlord, hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, his nails already bitten to the quick by economic downturn, and his hold is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village.

Two communities now living side by side, both with serious problems, one with the trauma of escaping a war of unimaginable cruelty, now grieving for those they have lost and worried sick for those left behind, the other abandoned by both major political parties, doomed to a decimated economy, convinced they were carrying an unfair share of the burden without adequate support.

TJ has done his best to keep The Old Oak open. It is the last pub in the village. But TJ is struggling. TJ is a man in his late fifties, born and bred in the village. He has one reliable friend, his little dog, Marra. She asks for nothing and is always there to make him smile. When the Syrians arrive, he is confronted with a new set of demands that test old loyalties.

THE OLD OAK, in part, the story of how he responds to this challenge. He doesn’t have an easy choice, moments of personal despair weaken what’s left of his optimism. His resolve is bolstered by Yara, a young Syrian woman he encounters following an ugly racist incident.

Dave Turner is excellent as TJ, a good man, an empathetic man, a flawed man dealing with the dilemma of a disillusioned local community hostile to a displaced foreign community seemingly dumped upon them.

Screenwriter and long time Loach collaborator, Paul Laverty quotes Saint Augustine who said that HOPE had two beautiful daughters. One, the anger at the way things are. Two, the courage to try and change them. This has been Loach’s working life mantra and ever so evident in THE OLD OAK.