East Is East (1999)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Damien O'Donnell

Writers:

Ayub Khan-Din (play)
Ayub Khan-Din (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A comedy of families, a chip shop... and a very randy dog.

Plot:

In 1971 Salford fish-and-chip shop owner George Khan expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani Muslim ways...

Plot Keywords:

Pakistani | British | England | 1970s | Arranged Marriage

Awards:

Nominated for 4 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 15 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Om Puri	...	George Khan
Linda Bassett	...	Ella Khan
Jordan Routledge	...	Sajid Khan
Archie Panjabi	...	Meenah Khan
Emil Marwa	...	Maneer Khan
Chris Bisson	...	Saleem Khan
Jimi Mistry	...	Tariq Khan
Raji James	...	Abdul Khan
Ian Aspinall	...	Nazir Khan
Lesley Nicol	...	Auntie Annie
Emma Rydal	...	Stella Moorhouse
Ruth Jones	...	Peggy
Ben Keaton	...	Priest
Kriss Dosanjh	...	Poppa Khalid
John Bardon	...	Mr. Moorhouse

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Urdu

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Egypt:(Banned) | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

FilmFour

Trivia:

Banned in Egypt.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the family go to the telephone box to phone Nazir, a train passes in the background. The movie is set in 1971, and the train carries a color scheme (Intercity) that was not introduced until the mid-1980s.

Quotes:

[Abdul and Tariq approach a local nightclub]
Bouncer: All right, Tony, how ya goin' mate?
Tariq Khan: All right, Bazza?
Bouncer: Yeah, good to see ya. All right, in ya go.
Tariq Khan: Nice, mate.
Bouncer: [to Abdul] Where do you think you're going, smiler?
Tariq Khan: This is our kid, erm...
Abdul Khan: Arthur, me name's Arthur.

Movie Connections:

Features "The Clangers" (1969)

Soundtrack:

Double Barrel

A different side of England

I wish there were more movies about the different cultures in the UK. Not just the Anglo, but the Pakistani and West Indian perspectives. Even the Southeast Asian view. The East Indians have shown great strides with movies like "Bend It Like Beckham" and a few others. This movie got away from me until recently. I saw in the library video section and decided to check it out. The box is very deceptive. They put a young interracial couple, front and center on the cover when actually their subplot is very peripheral to the story. I guess the movie studio figured they'd get a wider audience interested with younger faces on the cover since the main characters look to be in their 50s.

George Khan (Om Puri) has left his native Pakistan to live in the UK with its soveriegnty ties. Though he has a wife back in his homeland (she is only mentioned, not seen), he marries a white Englishwoman, Ella (Lynda Bassett). They have 7 kids: 6 boys and 1 girl. Flash forward to the late 60s (where the movie actually begins) and we see his kids are truly English in behavior though he stresses that they must go to Mosque to study and worship. His oldest is to be wed in an arranged marriage to a woman he hardly knows. He runs out in the middle of the ceremony in fear, embarrassing his family especially his father who disowns him. This sets the tone of the movie. His kids are English-born and want to live like their friends in their working-class neighborhood but George wants to raise them as traditional Muslims, despite opposition from his wife, Ella, who only wants the kids to be happy. She tries to help them avoid run-ins with their father who despite his cheerfulness is quite an ogre when angered. The kids range in attitude and indifference toward George's attempts to introduce them to the traditional ways.

This is a decent introduction to East Indian life in the UK especially since it's set during a time when there was political strife over immigration of non-whites into Britain. Though it's an effective comedy, it also touches on the frustration immigrants of any culture go through to hold onto or reject their identity. The only thing marring this movie is a domestic violence scene that may bother some. Still a very good movie worth seeing.