Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27129 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-07-16
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Synopsis
The parents of Casim Khan have decided that he is to marry Jasmine, his cousin. Casim, however, takes matters into his own hands when he embarks upon a relationship with Roisin, an Irish Catholic. English and Punjabi dialogue.

Customer Reviews

Love ís stronger than pride
This 2004 romantic drama by Ken Loach explores the difficulties of second generation Pakistani immigrants in their British host society. Casim, a young DJ of Pakistani descent living in Glasgow, falls in love with Irish Catholic music teacher Roisin. However, right from the start their relationship is strained by the pressure exerted on the two lovers by their respective social milieus: Casim's family, devout Muslims, feel disgraced by their son's refusal to marry another Pakistani woman while Roisin must try to hide her relationship from the Catholic church since she seeks permanent employment at a denominational school. In the end, the romantic bond between the two proves to be stronger than the traditional values which speak against their liaison. Some superb acting especially by Atta Yacub, Eva Birthistle and Ahmad Riaz gives this movie a cutting edge. Moreover, this flick is both entertaining and analytical and turns out to be yet another little masterpiece by one of Britain's most controversial directors of the Thatcher era.

Not a bad film, but could have been a lot better.
Casim Khan, a young Glaswegian Pakistani (Atta Yakub) meets Scottish (or Scots-Irish) music teacher Roisin Hanlon (Eva Birthistle), and the two fall in love. But Casim is from a convention-bound Muslim Pakistani family and has already been promised to another young woman, while the school where Roisin teaches is a Roman Catholic one, and the priest, whose support is vital if Roisin is to get a full contract, takes a dim view of her shenanigans with Casim. A story of the clash between two intolerant cultures, in other words, and of the dire problems that hinder the course of true love in such circumstances. Loach handles the story well enough but is rather let down by the limited acting ability of Atta Yakub, who tries hard but fails conspicuously to convey the depth of passion required of the part. An odd feature is that while we are witnesses to the sexual attraction between the lovers, an aspect portrayed in vivid detail, we are left guessing as to what else draws the two together. Father David Wallace, a real priest playing the part, one supposes, makes a wonderfully dramatic but all too short appearance. There is much repetition of argument throughout the proceedings, and an awful lot of foul mouthed effing and blinding in what has become the authentic Loach manner, improbably enough even among the Muslims. Not a bad film, but could have been a lot better.

Ken Loach treatment works again
A tight focus on a contemporary issue and a well proved film making paradigm gives us another fine Loach opus. Maybe the white European viewpoint is dominant, but this is Glasgow. The slight side issue of Catholic education does not deflect the fundamental Asian / British dichotomy. I suppose we are assumed to know and be in sympathy with the liberal European social attitude. The contrasting Asian perspective is well portayed without much background explanation - may be that we should all understand more than we really do. This is a love story and succeeds.