Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Wednesday October 25, 2023: director Ken Loach. His film, “The Old Oak” is released today.
Ken Loach is a British director, twice awarded at Cannes. The first time for The wind picks up in 2006 and the second time for Me, Daniel Blake, ten years later. Let’s be clear, he doesn’t like injustices, he has a very clear vision of the capitalist system and accepts it. His new film The Old Oak which comes out Wednesday October 25, 2023 is a beautiful summary of his view of the world. This is the last part of his triptych started in 2015 with Me, Daniel Blakefollowed in 2019 by Sorry We Missed You.
franceinfo: For the first time, you are offering to tell us about two communities. The inhabitants of a small village in the north-east of the United Kingdom, marked by unemployment due to the closure of the coal mine and the Syrian refugees welcomed in the same place. And there is this pub which eventually became the only place where everyone could come together. What your film shows and says above all is that we have to communicate, get to know each other. Is that the key?
Ken Loach: Yes, absolutely. But I hope it’s a little more than that! It is the story of two communities. In England, in Great Britain, the old industries died and the communities that worked in them were left to rot and we see this particularly in the mining community. In addition to this community, there is that of Syrian refugees who have experienced the trauma of war. They have lost family members, and they arrive in a country whose language they do not speak. The question is: will these two communities be able to live together? Will the old traditional solidarity of trade unionists and miners prevail? Or is it the anger, the fertile ground for racism which is somewhat maintained by politicians and by the extremes which will ultimately prevail? And these are two trends that clash.
Are you worried about this situation? What’s going on?
Of course ! The West really needs to recognize its share of responsibility in this and it goes back centuries. It is really the ruling classes, we should not be afraid of the word “ruling classes”, who invade to make a profit, impose their laws, impose their languages and to manage these territories. In the Middle East, we have really seen great divisions created because of the settlers, truly monstrous interventions and this is what explains a lot of the problems we have today.
Your father was a miner, then a foreman. He was unable to become a lawyer as he wanted because his parents could not afford to finance his uniform. Is this the starting point for the work you have already accomplished?
“One of the lessons we learned from books was that the ruling class survives all crises, while the working class pays the price.”
My political involvement began in the 1960s, when the slogan was: “Neither Washington nor Moscow”. Really very radical ideas that we have learned and that the successes of the years have validated. Margaret Thatcher was really the great illustration of this because putting profit back on center stage destroyed the unions. She did everything to destroy the unions.
You mentioned that this film might be your last. Is it possible ?
Yes I think. There comes a time when we are forced to admit our age and the realities of our age. We are less agile. It’s been 60 years since I first stepped behind the camera and it’s been a really long time. I don’t necessarily see myself directing another film. I would very much like.
“It’s a great honor, a great privilege, but I’m not sure I could handle making another film. You should never say ‘never,’ but for now no.”
We talk a lot about photos in this film. The starting point is Yara’s photos. She immortalizes memories. What are the most important photos of your life?
Those of the war when I was a child. I lived near Coventry and the cathedral was completely destroyed. The images of work and the friendships we make too. Ultimately, what we remember at the end of a film are the friendships we made, it’s really the process of collaboration, the bonds we created and the mutual support. It’s this unity that I cherish most about making films.