Rating: 
Summary: Brutally funny, touchingly human
Review: This is not a comedy though I will be the first one to admit there are some hilarious moments in this film that are side splittingly funny. Set in 1971 in the bleak city of Manchester, this is the story of a biracial family striving to come to terms with their cultural identities. George Khan (Om Puri) believes he is bringing up his seven children to be good Pakistanis but there is rebellion in the ranks, because George's wife Ella (Linda Bassett) is English and her children are as much her offspring as they are their father's despite his attempts to forget this. This film is coarsely vulgar at times, with ribald jokes and innuendo galore but it is also heart warming and genuinely moving and the plot though loose in parts is pulled together by some slick acting and good directing. The storyline follows George and his family as they struggle to come to terms with conflicting interests, such as the headstrong Meenah (Archie Panjabi) whose idea of fun is playing football in the street and eating bacon sandwiches, to Sajid (Jordan Routledge) who hides behind the hood of his dirty waxed jacket, and has yet to be circumcised, much to the horror of his orthodox Muslim father. The film touches many subjects such as arranged marriages, what the right job is for a good Pakistani boy and how do you make East meet West with out a clash of the Titans. With rude words galore, garish colours and a rocking sound track "East is East" is a film that will have you laughing and crying in the same breath. I was raised in the North of England in the 1970s and remember only too well the outside toilets; the freezing cold bedrooms and the cultural divide between two worlds rolling toward a head-on collision. This is a crackingly good film (not for the faint hearted) with excellent acting from all quarters. Who can forget brassy Stella (Emma Rydal) with her eyes firmly on Tariq (Jimi Mistry) and her plump friend Peggy (Ruth Jones) who will do anything for a kiss and a bag of French fries? The DVD version of this film is excellent (with some good bonus material) but if you get the chance to see it on the big screen then do so, it's worth the few extra dollars just to see it larger than life.
Rating: 
Summary: Om Puri is magnificent!
Review: Om Puri and Linda Basset turned in the year's most overlooked great performances in this hilarious, insightful comedy. A massive hit in Britain, the film was somewhat ignored by audiences when it released here in early 2000. The film is exceptionally funny, and it's great to see a comedy that actually has a good deal of emotional substance... they're far too rare. The subject material is fairly original, and the film is carried off much better than the similar "My Son the Fanatic". I admire how the film succeeds in making its point subtly. By focusing on the specific, arbitrary rules of a Pakistani, the film showed how arbitrary most parents' ideals can be.
Rating:
Summary: Not your average family flick
Review: I know people who were very offended by this film's portrayal of Pakistanis and I can say from my own experience that not all mixed families have the same problems as the Khans, but I still think that East is East is an excellent movie. The story is about George Khan, a Pakistani in England who married an English woman and begins to fear that his seven children are becoming too Westernized as they grow up. Anyone who comes from a multicultural family will be able to relate to the struggles of the Khan children to reconcile their father's wishes with their lives in 1971 Manchester. The movie isn't really for children and has a brutal and violent climax, but it teaches an important lesson about being at peace with one's decisions and growing up between cultures. On top of everything,the movie has a great soundtrack, with both English and Pakistani songs from the period and touches on significant historical events such as the rise of immigrant-basher Enoch Powell and the Bangladeshi war that may not be familiar to American audiences. All in all, it's an edgy, funny movie that will leave you crying with laughter and wishing it was an hour longer. If you were a fan of Zadie Smith's novel "White Teeth", you will probably like this.
Rating: 
Summary: Is it really funny?
Review: I don't think this movie was funny. It was more like a tragic drama where director went to limits to create funny situations by making fun of a particular ethnic group. At times he was successful but the situations seemed far from reality. For example who would like to have his good looking sons marry one of the ugliest girls available. C'mon, we have seen people from SE Asia and arranged marriages. And I have yet to see a British women getting slapped by a Paki husband. Those people who do not have any understanding of Islam and Pakistanis in general may find this amusing, others would wonder what Islamic culture director was trying to ridicule. No wonder it did good business in UK. Such controvercial topics are always good money-makers. Most of the people watch such movies out of curiosity....
Rating:
Summary: A filthy and disgusting movie
Review: This is a filty and disgusting movie for anyone who knows about pakistani culture and pakistanis living outside the country. No matter how liberal a pakistani family is, brothers and sisters never have this kind of understanding. And if there is a family living out like depicted in this movie, then they are worst than any non-muslim and non-pakistani. We, in Pakistan, have a deep cultural heritage and family values, which are unique around the world. This movie shows the worst kind of family. I am feeling so disgusted after seeing this movie.I can understand that the movie is showing a cultural clash. But I cannot imagine this kind of family, who has a pakistani father.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Movie, but stereotypical-contradictory feelings
Review: This movie was entertaining and funny, and the acting was good, but it needs to give a balanced portrayal of Pakistanis and Islam in general. The obvious reason for this movie in not being balanced is that the film maker was a white British guy and not a Pakistani/Muslim. I don't mean to sound racist but Islam and Muslims have such a bad image in the Western media. Many westerners will get this idea that they know about Islam just by watching this movie apart from anything else. With respect to the movie it should have developed Muneer's(the practicing Muslim who was calm and gentle)character a little bit more and show the contrast between himself and his father George Khan-the Western stereotype of the Muslim-violent,intolerant,and tyrannical. There is a tendency among Westerners to think that if a Muslim looses his temper it has something to do with Islam; would they apply the same stereotype to a Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Wiccan,etc.? Most likely not, despite the fact you have bad tempered people in all religions-but the Western mind is conditioned this way to the point of being hypocritical. Having read many of the customer reviews I found that mostly Pakistani or broadly Muslim people criticizing it as opposed to White or broadly NonMuslim doing the same thing. Apart from the characterization of Muneer, the movie should have broadened on George's statement to Tariq about Islam being an egalitarian religion-in otherwords show the contrast between theory and practice and the varying degrees of Muslimness and Pakistaniness. It should also give greater emphasis to those scenes where Earnest,the white kid, always greeted the Khan family with "Assalaam Allaikoom"(peace be onto you) despite the fact that he lived with a racist grandfather. This would have made a more powerful statement against racism. With respect to these scenes, I found Earnest's naive innocence and tolerant character quite charming. On a lighter note, I fealt some identification with Abdul(being a South Asian Muslim myself) in the sense of being caught between two worlds-first shunning alcohol and night clubs but later tries to experiment with it. To put in a nutshell, there should be depictions of Muslims in absolute greys rather than in black and white.
Rating:
Summary: Manchester Masala
Review: Inspired performances highlight this "culture-clash" comedy-drama that vascillates (a bit uncomfortably at times) between "Nil By Mouth" and "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner". First time director Damien O'Donnell appears to have gone to the Mike Leigh school, displaying a similar gift for very believable and affecting character development. Om Puri (largely unknown to Western audiences but a highly respected international actor) is superb as the harried patriarch of a Pakistani-English family in 1971 Manchester. Linda Bassett also shines as his English wife. The youngest son steals every scene he's in- with his ubiquitous hooded parka and a penchant for consistently bad timing, he comes off like a real-life "Kenny" from "South Park". Be cautioned: while there are a lot of chuckles here, there are also realistic depictions of domestic violence that some might find unsettling; however it is important to the story's arc. A very rewarding film.
Rating:
Summary: Lame
Review: This is supposed to be a... comedy, it is not. It is a hotch potch of every known stereo type that can be made against Pakistanis and Mulsims in general . . . and we are supposed to laugh at this? There are very few moments of mirth in this movie, it is a hard movie, being billed as a comedy, closest comparison would be the Australian movie 'Once a warrior'. The only saving grace in the movie is George Khan's daughter, her acting is remarkable, even where the script is lackluster. Additionaly, there are numerous historical and cultural myths that are introduced throughout the movie . . . My son the fanatic is better . . . in my opinion this is more about how people want to view Pakis as, as opposed to how they actually are, Om Puri being the mythical 'Duke' for an audience that knows nothing about Pakistan.
Rating:
Summary: East is East
Review: EAST IS EAST
Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jimi Mistry, Raji James, 2000 Synopsis
A Muslim Pakistani man (Puri) comes to England in 1937 and marries a white woman. Together they have seven children (6 boys, 1 girl). In 1971, when the children are all grown up, the father finds himself in a never-ending struggle to teach his kids traditional family values, as they fall astray. After he secretly arranges marriages for two of his sons, all hell breaks loose. My Review
This film hilariously succeeds in portraying the culture clash that exists between traditional parents and first generation westernized children. However, in East is East, the mother is British, and she stands by her children and wants them to be happy, despite her husband's strict and old-fashioned expectations. Great, realistic acting (especially from the mother) and a fun, yet emotionally touching story in this bold breakthrough film based on Ayub Khan-Din's play. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Culture clash
Review: What begins as a lighthearted and whimsical examination of the cultural differences between East and West escalates into a very serious and often dark study of the negative ramifications those irreconcilable differences can cause when strictly observed by those who lose track of the impact on those they love.
Om Puri is magnificent as Muslim George Khan, the traditional father of a very untraditional group of seven children, the offspring of his marriage with British wife Ella, played by Linda Bassett. Born and raised in England, his six sons and one daughter have grown to enjoy the high degree of cultural freedom not present in Pakistan. When George senses that he is losing the control of his family that he once enjoyed, he becomes an intransigent martinet and inadvertently manages to alienate them all. Built on the foundation of quaint humor, the dramatic frissons, when they come, are stunning. And there's never a false note, as confident newcomer Damien O'Donnell directs Ayub Khan-Din's story with aplomb, a story which is partially autobiographical and based on Khan-Din's own play of the same name.
|
