Occidente es occidente

A sequel to EAST IS EAST (1999), WEST IS WEST follows the passage of George/ Jahangir (Om Puri) as he travels with son Sajd (Aqib Khan) to Pakistan so as to 'educate' his son. However the process of adapting to the new culture after a life spent in Salford, Greater Manchester, proves more difficult for George than it does for his son. Andy De Emmony's film makes some trenchant points about the difficulties of cultural adaptation, and how it is impossible to 'go back' to one's home culture and expect to live life as one did before emigrating. There are some very funny moments in this film, especially Sajd as he gradually adjusts himself to alternative ways of life. However the ending represents a bit of a cop-out, as George/Jahangir returns to Britain to resume his life as a chip-shop owner with his second wife Ella (Linda Bassett), leaving his first wife Raushana (Dhanalaxmi Padmakumar) to fend for herself - just as he has done for most of the previous three decades. The fact that he can re-open the chip shop - despite having no money - seems a little hard to believe; and we wonder how he will be able to take care of his Pakistani family in the future, even if it means only sending them money.

East is East was a very enjoyable movie, with a great cast and a perfect balance between the funny and the poignant. West is West is a more than worthy successor. I agree some of the secondary characters were little more than caricatures and while there are some funny moments both visually and in the script, some of the humour does for my tastes get rather slapsticky. That said, it is a good-looking film and has a great well-paced story complete with a well-observed look at the cultural divide. The soundtrack appeals, the script sparkles with a number of moving and identifiable scenes and West is West is directed beautifully. Once again, Om Puri and Linda Bassett are outstanding in the leads, and while a brat at first Sajid wins you over in the end. Jimi Mistry's cameo was neat but all too brief. Overall, worthy sequel and a very good film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

As suggested by its title the film is a sequel to the late nineties Hit flick "EAST IS EAST". But it really doesn't matter if you haven't seen its first part as the movie is quite self explanatory for the viewer, without depending much on its original. Clearing the confusion which might be there looking at its promos, it's an English film with a regular use of Punjabi language throughout its almost 2 hours of duration and has some great soulful tracks in Punjabi too.

Where EAST IS EAST was more English, witty and entertaining, its present sequel is more traditional, emotional and meaningful in comparison. In the first part (released in 1999), the script revolved around the youngster's fast life in England, but in its present new version, the family visits their mother land, Pakistan and tastes the traditional way of life in a village. For the viewers not familiar with the story, WEST IS WEST is basically about Om Puri (who was a Pakistani national), now happily settled in England, with his new family looked after by his second wife who is a loving British Lady. After few incidents of his youngest son being bullied in the school and also getting caught for shop lifting, Om decides to take him to Pakistan and introduce him to his own culture. And there we get to see some impressive transforming sequences involving everyone in the family.

The film doesn't excite you enough in its first 10 minutes but as soon as the family reaches Pakistan, the pace picks up and some new interests are generated by the script. But here I would like to mention that apart from a few comic scenes mostly dealing with the language conflicts, WIW is not a comedy film from any angle. In fact that is a wrong kind of promotion strategy followed by its makers. As a result all the viewers opting for it taking it as a Brit-Asian comedy are going to be disappointed for sure.

On the contrary, WIW is a true to life, emotional depiction of the trauma faced by a torn personality living abroad who still has his heart caught somewhere in his mother land. It has some interesting characters like that of a Sufi Saint, a young wandering boy, a 'trying to be honest' relative who speaks broken English and many more. The director, Andy De Emmony beautifully captures the emotional distress of four of his characters in particular. Om Puri, who still can't make up his mind and always feels confused between his two families living in different countries following extremely diverse traditions. Ila Arun, his first wife, who is unwillingly living her life in a Pakistani Village still waiting for her husband to return. Linda Bassett, his second wife who is a loving British national and a very understanding, caring women willing to empathize with Ila and her helpless situation. And Aqid Khan, the youngest son of Om-Linda, who gracefully tries to study his father's country and its tradition but at the end has to return for his own future.

The film becomes a watchable effort mainly because of the splendid performances by these four actors. Especially watch out for the highly sensitive and impactful portrayal of an aging lady by Ila Arun who has undoubtedly given one of career best performances in the movie. Just look for a particular scene where both Ila and Linda are together on the screen and Ila gives her consent for her husband's return to England.

Along with its expressive cast, WIW has a great ethnic soundtrack with few fabulous tracks by Sai Zahoor (famous for his Coke Studio songs), who also makes a cameo in the film. Thankfully the Music CD of the film also has the Coke Studio versions of his songs which were earlier not available in the market. The background score, which also features in its CD, brilliantly gels with the village sequences shown on the screen and cinematography rightly captures the mood of the film.

However the film does have its own drawbacks and also doesn't have a universal appeal. It has a dropping pace and lacks the entertainment quotient since there are not enough enjoyable or comic sequences in the film as expected. So the viewers who are not willing to watch some meaningful cinema may get bored with its off-beat kind of subject and treatment.

But still, it's a different kind of experience, moving a step ahead from its first part. And hence I would like to rate it as a better sequel since it is able to deal with the emotional outbursts of its characters in an impressive way.

*Note: I did not see the prequel East is East, but this film is self-contained and I was perfectly able to watch it on it's own.

Set in 1970's England, West is West is a story about a family with a Pakistani Father and a Caucasian Mother. Aqib Khan plays Sajid, who is a budding teenager going through a tough time in his life. He is being bullied at school, waging war with his parents, and stealing things while he plays hooky. In order to straighten him out Sajid's father George played by Om Puri, takes him back to his ethnic roots in Pakistan.

As soon as they get off the plane Sajid aggressively resists his new surroundings. Wanting nothing more than to return back home to his English life Sajid drags his feet hating the clothes, the people, and especially the fact that his house is without plumbing. However, slowly though the help of a friendship and a wise guru Sajid learns to calm his heart and appreciate his Pakistani identity.

The father George in tandem has issues of his own. For 20 plus years he has lived a double life leaving behind his 1st Pakistani wife and some children. Neglected most of their lives the only thing his Pakistani family have received over the decades are checks in the mail and the occasional scribblings on paper. Withered and aged George's Pakistani wife wishes George had never returned to reignite her conflicting feelings of obligation and resentment.

This film is as much about George as it is about Sajid but there are also a host of other characters in this film with stories of their own. There is George's English wife who must reconcile with her Pakistani alternate. A task seemingly impossible when words traveling to each other can only amount to gibberish. There is also another one of George's sons who cannot arrange a marriage for the fear that he too will leave his Pakistani wife just like his father.

During the first twenty minutes of the film I got a little scared that I'd be sitting through a 100 minutes of overhanded moments of characters crying and yelling about how they struggle with culture clashes. However West is West is filled with funny moments of cultural miscommunication and touching moments of reconnection. There are plenty of laughs and most audiences will find themselves smiling at the end of the film.

The acting is good and at some moments moving. The cinematography, editing and music are all fairly well done. You won't be knocked out of seat with laughter, but you definitely won't feel as though you've suffered. Although a little formulaic West is West is a great film that is able to maintain a nice balance of lightness with the serious and depressing issue of family separation.

Who this film is not for: -Very serious movie goers who like sharp and determined stances on culture clashes. -People not interested in ethnic stories of immigration.

In 1999, "East Is East" was a pleasurable and incisive look at the clash of different cultures in an Anglo-Pakistani family in a Salford set in 1971. Over a decade later comes a sequel of sorts, this film located mainly in the Punjab part of Pakistan a few years on. Although the director is different (Andy DeEmmony this time), the writer is the same (Ayub Khan-Din) as are some of the lead actors, notably Om Puri (actually from the Indian part of the Punjab), again outstanding as the patriarch struggling to give his youngest son an appreciation of his Pakistani culture, and Linda Bassett as his long-suffering English wife.

It is an uneven work, with some of the characters merely caricatures and some of the humour simply slapstick, but there are plenty of moving scenes - above all one between the English and Pakistani wives when neither can understand the other's language but both manage to convey deep understanding - and the locations and soundtrack are excellent.