East Is East
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Movie Reviews of East Is East
Movie Review: East is East
Summary: 5 Stars
Laugh a minute. Some naughty language but fits in with the characters. Really enjoyed this film. Don't make em like this anymore!Movie Review: Ethnic Comedy Sharply Turns Serious.
Summary: 4 Stars
Although the film flip-flops and completely loses it's delicate balance right before it concludes, there is enough that is absolutely right to recommend this autobiographical look at a working class Muslim family in Manchester, England. The humor is warm and genuine, and the inevitable brutality we uncomfortably witness is believable. The acting is first rate with a couple of marvelous stand out performances.East is East is set near Manchester in 1971. We meet George Khan (wonderfully played by Om Puri- who played a similar role in the better; My Son the Fanatic) who has one daughter and six sons, runs a fish and chips shop, and tries to control the lives of everyone in his family according to strict Muslim codes of behavior. Since he's also trying to be a good Muslim, good businessman, good father and keep up with current events involving the India-Pakistan war, he is not in touch with the details of his children's lives. In fact he doesn't even realize that his youngest son was never circumcised as is a Muslim tradition. He is also trying to be a good husband for the English woman he loves. Yes, his children are mixed, they are English and Pakistan.
George's children see him as a hypocritical tyrant who screams orders to his family about the proper way to dress, the need to attend Muslim religious school, the necessity of arranged marriages which he himself has turned his back on, since he has left the first Mrs. Khan back in Pakistan. It's is the Muslim way of things and arranged marriages is how it must be done and George's offspring should not ask questions of how he married their English mom, but get in line and do as they are told.
How the family relates to each other is captured well in the opening scene which shows his children naughtily joining a parade of Catholics, while their Mom, Ella (in a powerfully effective performance from Linda Basset), distracts their father George just enough so they can get away with their playful ruse.
In an early scene, George's eldest son runs from the alter just prior to wedding a young Pakistan girl in an arranged meeting. He flees the alter and the family. Later it's matter-of-factly revealed he's gay and part of a very successful high fashion shop (hats I believe). To George this son has not just rejected the arranged marriage and become independent, but he has died.
The tone that is set is one where humor comes out of very real autobiographical vignettes that seem authentic and realistic. In fact the film is based on a stage play which has been adapted for the screen by the play write; Ayub Khan-Din. It's directed by a very confident and assured freshman director, Damien O'Donnel.
There are many themes that are woven throughout the film, the clash of traditions versus juvenille rebellion, the importance of family, the racism this family of Pakistani's face from even their neighbors, the sibling rivalries, the pursuit of one's dreams, the dangers of false pride, and the importance of love.
All of these things are well balanced through almost the entire film. The performances are all very strong. There is an extended sequence involving the youngest boys' need for a circumcision, which is played mostly for humor, but reveals again how dominating George Kahn and his insistence of being a good Muslim family truly is. There are subplots involving a neighborhood romance which strike just the right type of awkward tone. There are several comedic moments that arise from the family's living conditions. Three of the six sons share the same bed. There is no indoor toilet facilities so pee pots and cast iron tubs are still in use.
The film sharply turns to show us a brutal and disturbing scene. It's a scene that feels truthful and makes the film a lot more powerful than the almost light comedy it has been.
Unfortunately after the film becomes disturbing it then tries tries to quickly shift back to it's earlier lighter tone. This attempted shift feels all wrong and left me with many mixed feelings. If we are indeed being authentic, then the film-makers insisting on trying give the film a feel-good type of ending is utterly hypocritical and false. Perhaps the material was mercilessly cut, and several scenes exist on the cutting room floor ( or in the original theatrical play) that would have made the film play much better. Or perhaps the film-makers failed to realize just how much impact the bit of brutality we see really has. It's a pity because when the film tries to switch back it derails and loses it's slice of life honesty to become just another film that only partially lets us peak into the lives of people who are different, yet very much like we are.
I am glad however, that ultimately despite the flaws, and disappointing ending (where loose ends are left dangling everywhere) there is a deep lingering sense of the love and commitment that exists in a very strong, very unique marriage -George and Ella's.
East is East won the Alexander Korda award for Outstanding British Film at this year's British Academy Awards. It's almost ironic since George Kahn is based on writer Ayub Khan Din's father who worked as an extra not just on Dam Busters (which is mentioned in East is East) but also on one of Korda's films as well. Kahn had some problem with racism on the set until Korda sat with Kahn during his lunch breaks.
Movie Review: low keyed comedy/drama
Summary: 4 Stars
`East is East,' something of a modern day version of `Fiddler on the Roof,' explores the culture clash that occurs in the context of a half Pakistani/half British family living in early 1970's England. George Khan is a Muslim who, upon immigrating to Great Britain in 1937, married a British woman despite the fact that his first wife still lives in Pakistan. Now, twenty five years later, the still happily married couple lives in a small apartment with their daughter and six sons all of whom have been raised to honor their father's religion and traditions. Yet, like Tevye, George is suddenly confronted with the fact that, as times change and the world moves on, the younger generation will no longer abide by the archaic rituals of an ancient age. In many ways, this is the flip side of `Fiddler' in that here the reluctant marriage partners are sons and not daughters. For indeed, George's ultimate goal in life is to arrange marriages for his teenaged sons within the accepted tradition of the Muslim faith. But culture is often a force that parents try in vain to withstand and these children, raised in the far more open and liberated society of `mod' England, are not about to take such dictatorial parental control lying down.In the script based on his play, Ayub Khan-Din provides an evenhanded and comprehensive view of the situation. George is not presented to us as an inflexible or unreasonable ogre, yet at the same time, he will, in his frustration, strike out even physically at the children and the wife who seem to oppose him. We sense the fear that runs through him that, if his sons are allowed to exercise their freedom in this one crucial area, the family will sever that connection with the past which brings stability to their lives. Thus, without any traditions to anchor them, George dreads that he and the family will be cut adrift in a seemingly rudderless world that suddenly seems in the 1970's to be in such great and terrifying moral flux. Moreover, we are left to ponder the strange contradiction between George's own words and the choices he himself has made. After all, his opting to marry a British woman who does not share the tenets of his faith obviously went beyond the bounds of the very traditions he is now so dogmatically insisting his sons uphold. This type of ambiguity within the characters enhances their credibility, for indeed life and the people we meet therein come replete with such maddening inconsistencies.
Khan-Din and director Damien O'Donnell establish an effective balance between low-key humor and occasionally searing drama. The relationship between the husband and wife who comprise this interracial marriage is complexly realized and fully drawn; the obvious difficulties the two have experienced as a result of the nonconformity of their union has obviously strengthened their devotion to one another and they appear to greatly enjoy each other's company. She has undoubtedly made any number of concessions and compromises to her husband's belief system, yet she has retained her British feistiness and knows how far to let George go before she draws the line, especially when it comes to protecting the rights and happiness of her own progeny. In a similar way, we see, in thorough detail, the complexities that make up the two very different sets of relationships between the respective parents and their children. Din and O'Donnell have, wisely, chosen to limit the scope of their film by downplaying the broader theme of how a suspicious and prejudiced society deals with so unconventional a marriage and family. We see only bits and pieces of this in the form of bigoted comments uttered by a disapproving neighbor and a mere mention of a political rally intended to rouse the populace on the issue of `repatriation.' Instead, the authors concentrate almost exclusively on the internecine struggles taking place within this one family. This helps to keep the scale of the film life-sized, thus enhancing our identification with the characters and their universal parent/child conflicts. For, in a way, the Khan family is really not undergoing any crisis not already familiar to countless families the world over, as parents cope with children eager to cut the filial chords and establish life on their own terms and as children, likewise, deal with parents who want to determine the course those lives will take. The Khans just happen to provide a more heightened and intensified view of this subject.
`East is East' is a small movie but an absorbing one. Thanks to uniformly excellent performances from a gifted cast and a careful modulation between humor and drama, the film emerges as a compelling and insightful glimpse into a life that is, as for all of us, so full of both terrifying and wonderful complexity.
Movie Review: A reasonably accurate caricature of South Asian culture
Summary: 4 Stars
I have watched this movie several times, and each time I have been amused, and chagrined over how accurate the portrayal is of South Asians in Britain during the 60s. You have to understand that post-WW II britain had induced thousands of unskilled workers for their industry. These people were not educated, and many of them married locals. These locals were NOT middle class, or even lower middle class -- in socialist Britain, back in the 50s and 60s, there was still abject poverty. So what you see in the movie is accurate from both sides, South Asian, and the British.
George Khan is unable to reconcile the hopes and aspiration of his children with his upbringing -- even highly educated parents of today aren't able to bridge that gap, regardless of cultures. How often does an Italian marry a jewish person, or a white marries a black? By the way, I am punjabi, and I grew up in Pakistan, and I personally know families in Britain that are EXACTLY like George Khan's family.
Islam or its teachings has nothing to do with the portrayal of this family. The movie succeeds well in demonstrating George Khan's hypocrisy regarding his religion, his patriotism, his family ethics, even in choosing his wife; in one scene, he speaks lowly of all local white women, and when his son confronts him on why he married one, he ends the conversation by threatening to choke him if he continues with this line of reasoning. This is the story of one person's weaknesses in the context of different cultures. That's all. It's interesting to look inwardly for some people who are upset at this movie. I understand that embarrasment -- it's a good beginning. These people should watch this movie over and over again. It is cathartic not just for me as a punjabi Pakistani, but also as a person.
Om Puri who plays George is a fine actor in the tradition of actors like Lawrence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins. He really is a very fine character actor. He has acted in many Indian movies and some english. I will say this again, the family life portrayed in this movie for that period, given the pop culture movements of the 60s, and given the social class portrayed, this is a very accurate movie. I have this movie in my shelves and I watch it from time to time, and I recommend it to my friends, family, and new acquaintances. A hallmark of all great movies, like literature, is that they encourage debate. And this one does in its small way.
Movie Review: A drama - comedy about a multicultural family
Summary: 4 Stars
How to get a heap full of problems caused by a multicultural family? - Put together a strict religious Pakistani man and a woman coming from a British working class family!The film ?East is East" is very interesting because it shows a multicultural family, the Khans, and their problems. At the beginning you are involved in the actions immediately, because the conflict between the father and the rest of the family is represented very well. This conflict is about the Muslim tradition of the father and the rest of the family, who wants to live the British way of life. The father, George, forces the typical Pakistani tradition upon to all of his children. Therefore the children are not allowed to live their own life. The consequence is a strong and at the same time humorous rebellion against the father.
The plot is plausible and easy to follow. The film has a good mix between humorous and dramatic scenes. Furthermore, the variety of characters is the most positive aspect of the film for me. George for example is a character who is lovely and sympathetic, but he can also become violent. Each member of the Khan family occupies a different position along a cultural fault line. Especially the seven children have interesting characters. One of them is gay and flees from his arranged marriage. Moreover there is a party-loving rebel and another child is a very religious Muslim. The only daughter wants to live as a boy and loves to play football.
The only negative aspect for me is the end of the film. It is very superficial and does not fulfil the viewers expectations since you do not know if the father really changes his attitude.
But I think the film is very good, because it describes the typical problems of such a family. If you are interested in this kind of family conflicts, the film will entertain you.