In a feature for The Telegraph, writer Simon Heffer decried Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) a “poisonous film about the war between the IRA and the inevitably wicked British”. Naturally, he had no desire to watch the work before committing these proclamations to paper, as he also didn’t feel the need to “read Mein Kampf to know what a louse Hitler was.” What Heffer missed out on was a lyrical exploration of the Irish civil war, depicting the nuances, dimensions and perspectives that led a nation from fighting an external enemy to knocking each other about. Loach had the last laugh: not only did the feature nab a Palme d’Or, it was also the director’s most successful work in terms of box office receipts.

But Heffer’s words tapped into the country’s mindset, which explains why Loach is one of two participants in this fine follow-up to The Coup D’etat Factory (Victor Fraga, 2021). Where The Coup d’Etat Factory delves into Brazil’s troubled history with propaganda and politics on a national scale, The Bad Patriots exhibits two Englishmen discussing their nation’s complicated relationship with left-wing ideologies and policies. Victor Fraga pivots from his home country to his adopted one, eagerly investigating the island’s foibles and media bias.

Unlike its more sprawling predecessor, The Bad Patriots is a more lo-fi affair, predominantly focusing on the dialogue between the two-time Palme d’Or winner and former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. It’s clear that they have been friends for years, and the richness of the feature stems from their shared words; every memory flowing with a mixture of laughter and startling realisation.

Corbyn, like Loach, has been the subject of media fodder, not least during the 1980s when he purportedly put fellow politicians at risk by inviting two Northern Irish former prisoners into parliament. The nature was to discuss England’s progress, but in time honoured tradition, certain papers opted to paint the politician as a “terrorist sympathiser.” He also remembers meeting up with a foreigner who conversed with the Labour politician for a meagre 15 minutes, only to be accused of associating with a Czech spy. Loach commends British television on being progressive in certain areas, but confesses he struggled to get a documentary he pieced on the miners strike aired on television because it had too much bite.

The duo touch on Russia (Corbyn categorically calls Stalin’s actions out as the “antithesis of the revolution”), before going on to discuss riots and rebellions across the world. Both give clear, solid answers to dense, difficult questions, summarising their experiences as polemicists, socialists and realists in a country that has gotten more capitalist since the reign of Margaret Thatcher. What is evident from their words is that bias exists in the media, which is why it needs to be revamped to allow for general critique. Soberingly, the film ends with the proclamation that Labour now follows the policy that it is racist to classify Israel as prejudiced. Seemingly the irony is lost on what is supposed to be a left-wing party.

Of the two films in the Dirty Media Trilogy (the third and final documentary, featuring Noam Chomsky in the lead, is currently in production), The Bad Patriots is the more rewarding experience, because it’s steeped in memory and contradiction, delivered with the passion and gumption that a project of this scale needs. Fittingly, excerpts of Loach’s catalogue dot the finished cut, bringing an added dimension to the work. Characters from the filmmaker’s oeuvre pop up in order to battle figures from higher authority, emphasising the universality of the struggle at hand. Clearly the two subjects on the screen are the wrong types of nationalists, precisely because they do not follow the status quo and celebrate Britain’s achievements as a global superpower. Dialogue is important for fruition. Without conversation, humans are no more advanced than cattle.

Director Victor Fraga acts as interviewer. Visibly younger than the participants, Fraga looks intrigued when he hears stories of the Guardian of yesteryear, a newspaper that published pieces of political censorship, just as his voice trembles when he hears Corbyn’s memories of maltreatment from the country’s press. England has a proud tradition of fairness in its journalistic tactics, much as it has worked towards stability amongst the classes across the nation. Yet behind these bastions of progress stand the oligarchs, the money-men who line up their financial needs against the wishes of the many. The Bad Patriots stands as a history of sorts, an epistle to prowess in a nation that could rebuild itself on a model of equality rather than money.

The Bad Patriots just premiered in the 48th edition of the Sao Paulo International Film Festival. The UK premiere will take place between February and April 2025, details to be announced soon.

Disclaimer: this film was directed by the founder and editor of this publication.