By ERIK CHICONELLI GOMES*
The filmmaker who managed to capture the essence of the working class with authenticity and compassion
In the history of British cinema, few filmmakers have managed to capture the essence of the working class with such authenticity and compassion as Ken Loach. His latest trilogy, consisting of Me, Daniel Blake (2016) You were not here (2019) and The Old Oak (2023), serves as a powerful epilogue to a career dedicated to giving voice to those marginalized and oppressed by contemporary society.
Ken Loach, throughout his extensive filmography, has always stood out for his realistic and socially engaged approach. His films are not mere entertainment, but rather tools for raising awareness and social criticism. This final trilogy is no exception, offering an incisive look at the human consequences of the UK’s economic and social policies over the past decades.
Me, Daniel Blake opens the trilogy with the story of a middle-aged carpenter who finds himself trapped in a bureaucratic maze while trying to obtain disability benefits. The film starkly exposes the flaws in the British welfare system, revealing how austerity policies directly affect the lives of the most vulnerable.
Following the same line, You were not here addresses the precariousness of work in the era of the platform economy. The film follows a self-employed delivery driver and his family, illustrating the devastating consequences of an economic system that prioritizes profit over the well-being of workers.
The Old Oak, the film that closes not only the trilogy but possibly Ken Loach's career, continues to explore pressing social issues, this time focusing on the refugee issue and xenophobia in small communities. The story of TJ Ballantyne, the owner of a run-down pub, and his unlikely friendship with Yara, a young Syrian refugee, serves as a metaphor for the possibilities of solidarity and mutual understanding in times of crisis.
What unites these three films, beyond their social themes, is Loach’s meticulous attention to the lived experience of the working class. His characters are not simple caricatures or symbols of a political message; they are complex individuals with their own contradictions and internal struggles. This approach reflects a deep understanding of history “from below,” a perspective that values the experiences and actions of ordinary people as fundamental drivers of social change.
Em The Old Oak, Ken Loach expands his gaze to include not only British workers but also refugees, forced from their homes by global conflicts. In doing so, he weaves a narrative that connects local struggles to the global forces that shape the fate of entire communities.
Yara's camera in The Old Oak serves as a powerful narrative device, allowing Ken Loach to explore themes of memory, representation and the power of the image in constructing collective narratives. It is through this object that the past of the mining community and the present of the refugees intertwine, creating possibilities for mutual understanding and solidarity.
The pub itself, “The Old Oak”, becomes a potent symbol of the changing community. Once a meeting place and camaraderie for local miners, it is now struggling to survive against a backdrop of economic and social decline. TJ’s attempt to revitalise the space as a meeting place for locals and refugees reflects Ken Loach’s enduring belief in the power of collective action and class solidarity.
Throughout his career, Ken Loach has consistently portrayed the struggles of the working class, from the labor unrest in Me, Daniel Blake even the miners' strikes in previous films like Which side are you on? (1985) The Old Oak revisits these themes, showing how the scars of these past battles still shape the present of the communities portrayed.
Ken Loach's trilogy can be seen as a longitudinal study of the changing living and working conditions of the British working class. Me, Daniel Blake a The Old Oak, we see a progression from the dismantling of the welfare state, through the precariousness of work, to a point where entire communities struggle to maintain their cohesion in the face of profound demographic and economic changes.
What makes Ken Loach's work particularly valuable from a historiographical point of view is his ability to capture the Zeitgeist of an era through the lived experiences of ordinary individuals. His films function as historical documents, recording not only events but also the attitudes, hopes and fears of a social class often marginalized in official narratives.
Ken Loach’s approach to film narrative, with its quasi-documentary style and frequent use of non-professional actors, contributes to the sense of authenticity that permeates his films. This technique, reminiscent of Italian neorealism, allows the experiences portrayed on screen to resonate with a veracity rare in cinema. mainstream.
Em The Old Oak, as in the previous films in the trilogy, Ken Loach demonstrates a keen understanding of the importance of community spaces in the formation of class consciousness. The pub, as well as the community center in Me, Daniel Blake, serves as a microcosm where social tensions are negotiated and where the possibility of solidarity between different groups emerges.
By concluding his career with this trilogy, Ken Loach not only solidifies his legacy as one of the most important social filmmakers of the 20th and early 21st centuries, but also offers a call to action. His films are not just passive portraits of social injustice, but active invitations to reflection and change. In this sense, The Old Oak serves as a final testament to Ken Loach's unwavering belief in the transformative power of empathy and collective action.
Ultimately, Ken Loach's final trilogy, culminating in The Old Oak, represents not only the culmination of a remarkable career, but also an important historical document of our time. Through these films, Ken Loach offers us a lens through which to critically examine the social and economic structures that shape our lives, while also reminding us of the resilience and dignity inherent in those who struggle against adversity. It is a cinematic legacy that will continue to resonate and inspire long beyond its time.
*Erik Chiconelli Gomes is a postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Law at USP.
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