Review of West Is West (1920) by Ana B — 02 Oct 2011

Second part of the popular East is East featuring the same family, the Khans. In the second part the couple struggles with their youngest son, Sajid, a troubled teenager trying to escape the racism of Salford during the 70s while fighting the rigid grasp of his traditional father at home. Mr.Khan finally sends him on a holiday to Pakistan to discover his roots and he decides to accompany him so he can visit the ex-wife and the daughters he left behind 30 years ago.

This has been marketed, for some reason, as a comedy. However this is nothing of the sort. There are some jokes and some funny situations but this is the portrait of a very dysfunctional family struggling to overcome the race and culture issues that are tearing them apart. This is especially true in Mr. Khan, a pakistani man that has been living abroad for so long that finds very difficult to reconcile past and present now that has to face the consequences of his decisions.

It is a good film but not an esay watch. It shows us problems that might be set in the 70s but that are still very valid today. It is been said that second parts don't tend to be as good as the original film, I don't believe this to be the case. It is a fair and just sequel dealing with the same problem but with a different perspective.