East Is East
|
DVD Cover Information Actor: Linda Bassett, Om Puri Director: Damien O'Donnel Producer: Leslee Udwin Writer: Ayub Khan-Din DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 Format: NTSC Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 1 minutes Published: 2000-09-01 DVD Release Date: 2012-01-06 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: LIONSGATE |
| New | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $8.99 | ||
| Used | Used Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $4.92 | ||
| Collectible | Collectible Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $14.95 |
Your purchase is protected by the A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee. Amazon.com automatically transfers your payment to the merchant so you'll never need to pay a merchant directly. Amazon.com A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee covers both the delivery of your item and its condition upon receipt.
Movie Reviews of East Is East
Movie Review: HORRIBLE Movie! STEREOTYPICAL of Asians! DISGUSTING & AWFUL
Summary: 1 Stars
I saw this terrible excuse for a movie on TV a few years ago. I would never, EVER in a MILLION, BILLION years buy this garbage unless I was PAID to do so!
The creators of this "film" should be ASHAMED for producing this stereotypical load of excrement. If Amazon.com allowed NO stars, that is what I would have chosen for this trash. As a matter of fact, not only does it deserve NO stars, it deserves a couple of puking face icons, along with handfuls of rotten tomatoes!!
I seriously can NOT understand how this foul excuse for a movie is getting so many good reviews and high ratings. Either some of the other reviewers are totally blind, or they are completely ignorant of all the gross scenes, and the rampant stereotypes, and pigeon-holing of ethnic groups.
"East is East" which is set in England during the 1970's, is about a Pakistani immigrant, George Khan (Om Puri) a vile, uncouth, and abusive man who is married to Ella (Linda Bassett) a British woman who is almost as repulsive as her husband.
George and Ella Khan own a neighborhood fish and chips restaurant, and they have 7 children together, most (if not all) of whom have turned out to be as vulgar and crass as their parents. Rounding out this misfit bunch is Ella's trashy sister, Annie.
Eldest son Nazir, was disowned by his father after refusing to go through with an arranged marriage, and literally, leaving his bride standing at the altar. After walking out of his wedding, and being thrown out of his family, all traces of him - photos, mention of his name, etc., were removed from the Khan house. Only his mother and siblings acknowledge his existence with secret phone calls made from distant pay phones to keep the father, George Khan, from finding out.
The other Khan children are far more disgusting. While one son, Saleem, uses his dubious artistic "skills" to create obscene and revolting pornographic sculptures and drawings, another son, Tariq, spends all his time sneaking off to discos, and making out with British girls, especially the daughter of a virulent racist, who's running for public, political office on an anti-immigrant platform.
Sons Abdul and Maneer blend into the background of this awful family with Maneer as the "goody-two shoes" and "brown-nosing suck-up" to their father, and are only significant in that, they too end up a target of their boorish father's violent rages when they finally try to speak up.
Daughter Meenah (Archie Panjabi) is, in my opinion, the least repugnant, and most likable of all the characters - which is not really saying much, since the other characters are like scum in the bottom of a barrel.
Being the only daughter in a family of six sons, Meenah is a real tomboy, often playing soccer in the street with the neighborhood boys. As has been mentioned, Meenah's acting abilities are the only saving grace of this film, if there is any to really speak of. It's just a shame that such a talented actress like Archie Panjabi has to be associated with such an asinine and ghastly "film" like "East is East".
Finally, rounding out this hideous family is youngest son, Sajid, who lives in a filthy fur-trimmed parka (a'la Kenny on South Park) and screeches at the top of his lungs when anyone tries to take it off. He is nearly as vile as his father, urinating on the walls of the local school, mosque, and other buildings.
The family in this movie reminds me of characters called the Thingumajigs, in a series of children's books by Irene Keller, that my mom used to read to my brother and me growing up. Those of you who know about those books, will definitely be able to identify with their human counterparts in this movie.
I would SERIOUSLY avoid this movie like the Bubonic Plague, which this film probably carries. This movie is just plain AWFUL!! Avoid it at all costs! It is a stereotypical pile of rubbish!
If you want to see GOOD movies about the Indian sub-continent, I recommend watching "Bhaji on the Beach", "Monsoon Wedding" or "Bend it Like Beckham". "East is East" portrays NOTHING accurate about Asians, or the Islamic culture in general.
Director Damien O'Donnell clearly knows NOTHING about Indians & Pakistanis, or Muslims, and its easy to see that he has done NO research whatsoever into the subject. No meaningful study of Islamic laws and teachings, and Asian traditions.
For one thing, in one scene, while the parents are out, the children cook and eat bacon and sausage at home. BACON & SAUSAGE!
Apparently the director, and creators of this film are too ignorant to know, but Islam forbids the consumption of pork!
Now even though the Khan children were eating the bacon and sausage in defiance of their father's Islamic beliefs, there is NO way that any Asian, Indian/Pakistani or Muslim child would eat it blatantly, out in the open like that, in their parents home. It would be considered like the ultimate disrespect and dishonor to their culture and their heritage.
So if they were going to defy the Islamic tenets and eat pork products, they would eat it secretly, away from home, in some distant restaurant, or other far-off place where they would not be seen. They would not disrespect their family, by eating pork at home where they would bring their parents shame and dishonor.
It is obvious that instead of doing his own independent research, director Damien O'Donnell has just taken all the stereotypes, myths, and mis-information about Muslims and Asians, and has just cobbled them together to make this movie.
"East is East" is the WORST POSSIBLE film to use in developing an opinion about Asians. It is worse than a caricature. I have never seen anyone - Asian, Muslim, or otherwise, act like that - so loutish, uncouth, and vulgar.
Furthermore, I seriously wonder if the director, Damien O'Donnell, is some kind of fetishist. Because, even though this film is set in the 1970's, years after the development and widespread use of indoor plumbing, this family still does not seem to have it installed in their home, and there are excessive and graphic scenes of various characters urinating into chamber pots.
I mean, practically every other scene or so has someone going to the bathroom on-screen. Literally on-screen! It is just disgusting!! One would think that in the 1970's, they would be using regular indoor toilets instead of pots in the corner. Moreover, I cannot understand the director's need to constantly show people urinating THROUGHOUT the movie. Maybe he has some kind of urine fetish. That's the only logical conclusion. But, that he transfers that, into this movie is just revolting.
"East is East" is NOT worth the time is spent in watching it. People will be better off watching a QUALITY film like "Monsoon Wedding", "Bhaji on the Beach", or "Bend it Like Beckham".
1/5 stars (though in ALL honesty, it should be rated NO STARS + 5 ROTTEN TOMATOES (to throw at the creators of this "movie"!!) & 5 PUKING FACES!!)
This movie is a COMPLETE waste of time! Avoid it at all costs! A TRULY, HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE, NO-GOOD, VERY BAD MOVIE!!!!