'The Bad Patriots' Review: Myth-Busting with Fire and Film
- Romey Norton
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - May 12, 2025
“If you’re not careful, the papers will have you hating the people who are oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing” - Malcolm X.
If you’ve read a British tabloid in the past two decades, chances are you’ve heard the labels: terrorist sympathiser, anti-British, national security threat, communist. These are just a few of the slurs hurled at filmmaker Ken Loach and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In The Bad Patriots, director Victor Fraga hands them the mic, and the result is both eye-opening and deeply personal as they explore decades of misrepresentation, misinformation, and media-fuelled outrage.
The documentary offers a thoughtful, probing look at how media narratives are crafted, weaponised, and used to manipulate public opinion. Through candid interviews, archival footage, and sharp editorial choices, Loach and Corbyn unpack their decades in the spotlight. They discuss how a photo can be cropped, how a quote can be twisted, how public discourse can be turned against those who dare to question the status quo.
The Bad Patriots will make you question what it means to be a patriot, and a political one at that. You don’t have to be a card-carrying member of the Labour Party, or even particularly political, to appreciate this documentary. But if you are one, I'm sure this will fuel your passion for politics. Some might feel that it’s biased and has an agenda, but I will remind viewers that most documentaries do, and this is one which can help inform and shape opinions.
Loach’s experience with the BBC is so interesting and insightful and honest - you get a real feel for his passion as a filmmaker and the changes he has seen throughout his life. He carefully explains political censorship, where broadcasters wouldn’t air anything that challenged the state. It’s almost unbelievable.
The way in which the documentary is shot is simple but effective. It is split into sections where we have intimate interviews with Loach, interviewed on what looks like a local theatre stage, and with Corbyn who is interviewed in a library space. Both settings reflect the interviewee’s character and career. The strongest part of the documentary is half way through where Loach, Corybn and Fraga sit together and talk about British politics and newspapers.
It’s also deeply British in its quiet defiance. Loach’s soft-spoken intensity and Corbyn’s dry wit cut through the noise, revealing a shared moral compass rooted in working-class solidarity and democratic principles. Agree or disagree with their politics, it’s hard not to admire their resilience.
The Bad Patriots is a necessary documentary for our disinformation age—sharp, smart, and unafraid to call out the hypocrisy at the heart of British political media. It doesn't just reframe Loach and Corbyn; it asks us all to reconsider what we believe, and why. If you didn’t have a problem, or disdain for the British media, you will after watching this. The documentary ends with some scary information regarding the current situation in Gaza, but points out it was made before the October 7 bombings. It’s a brilliant piece of film and you must watch it!
Selected for the prestigious BFI London Film Festival, this bold and unflinching film pulls no punches in exposing the double standards of the British press, while offering a rare humanising look at two men who’ve often been more caricature than character in public discourse.
The Bad Patriots has been selected for the BFI London Film Festival
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