Movie Review: East is East

Story: East is east and west is west and ne'er the twin shall meet at least that is the appropriate saying for this Ayat Khan-Din play brought to the screen by Damien O'Donnell. It is 1971, in a blue collar English suburb, with a Pakistani man, married to an English woman who together have 7 children all who desperately want to consider themselves English, not Paki. This is the root of the story, the problems, the laughs and the sorrows of this film. It is an interesting film about cultural clashes, family, tradition, class (of course, because it is an English film) and race. Last year's powerful, My Son the Fanatic was a much stronger film about the same subject (with the same star). I always enjoy films about other cultures so I won't be that critical even though mot of the characters are very stereotypical. Be warned, along with the laughs there is some disturbing domestic violence.

Acting: The incredible Om Puri (In Custody, My Son the Fanatic) is a visible force when on the screen. He is larger than life. Linda Bassett as his long suffering wife was terrific. All of the supporting characters, while directly out of central casting add depth to this story.

Pets: One big dog

Visual Art: Some very funny drawings and modern sculpture.

Soundtrack: Appropriate

Quirky Meter: 3

Tissue Usage: 1/2

Oscar Worthy: Not with our American values and tastes.

Length: 96 minutes

LOBO HOWLS: 6