Review of East Is East (1916) by Alex M — 25 Feb 2004

[size=3]This British comedy about a father trying to hold on to the values of his home country while adjusting to the realities of his family's new culture is suprisingly funny and poignant, despite frequent inconsistency in its tone. Om Puri manages to be both frightening, sympathetic and humourous as George Khan, the owner of a fish-and-chips shop in 1970s England who is horrified to discover that his children are rebelling against his devout Muslim plans to arrange their marriages. In many ways, [i]East Is East [/i]is quite similar to the later film [i]My Big Fat Greek Wedding [/i]in its examination of a modern generation clashing with the traditional values of their parents. The film generates quite a few smiles, and it's decision to examine the difficulties of immigration through a comic lens was a wise one. The character of George Khan is fascinating because he is himself quite hypocritical...despite his devotion to the idea of arranged marriages, George himself left his former wife in Pakistan and married a British woman. Puri does not make George hateful, but he does not strain for our sympathies either. There are some moments in the film that seem out-of-place and inconsistent with the movie's general tone of amusement. There is a wrenching scene in which George physically abuses both his wife and his child, and while we can understand his frustration, it mars everything that follows. As if to counterbalance this, director Damien O'Donnell includes some comic moments that seem too contrived and based in slapstick...one joke in particular is so over-the-top it falls flat. Despite these weaknesses, [i]East Is East [/i]is easy to warm to because it speaks to not only immigrants who have had to deal with a new culture, but to everyone who has ever disagreed with their parent's (or their child's) beliefs and values. This is far from a perfect film, but it left me feeling both amused and with a greater understanding of the difficulties of retaining one's culture while being immersed in a foreign land.[/size].

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