Ae Fond Kiss (DVD)

...and then we sever
Ae farewell, alas, forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee..."~

The words of 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns have been taken as the apt title of this 21st century tale of a young couple Casim and Roisin's inter-racial love affair and the fallout which ensues.

The Khan family have lived in Glasgow for 40 years following ...
...been Glasweigian born and raised:

Parents Tariq (Ahmad Riaz) and Sadia Khan (Shamsad Akhtar) - Own a small general dealer store, they are hardworking and ambitious for all their children. Devout Muslims their traditional way of life is important to them. Father Tariq's twin brother was killed as a child during the chaotic flee to Pakistan from India during partitioning in 1948, that he is feircly protective of his family probably owes ... more

~"Ae fond kiss and then we sever
Ae farewell, alas, forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee..."~

The words of 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns have been taken as the apt title of this 21st century tale of a young couple Casim and Roisin's inter-racial love affair and the fallout which ensues.

The Khan family have lived in Glasgow for 40 years following the parents immigration from Pakistan, the children have all been Glasweigian born and raised:

Parents Tariq (Ahmad Riaz) and Sadia Khan (Shamsad Akhtar) - Own a small general dealer store, they are hardworking and ambitious for all their children. Devout Muslims their traditional way of life is important to them. Father Tariq's twin brother was killed as a child during the chaotic flee to Pakistan from India during partitioning in 1948, that he is feircly protective of his family probably owes a great deal to this tragedy. Sadia is often the peace maker in the conflicts the children have with their father.

Eldest daughter Rukhsana Khan (Ghizala Avan) - Rukhsana has completed her degree and is due to have an arranged marraige to Amar, she is traditional in her views and is very happy with her fiance.

Son Casim Khan (Atta Yaqub) - Casim has completed his degree and is in his early 20's, he is an entrepreneurial businessman who also works as a DJ in a club. He along with business partner and friend Hammid have plans to convert a warehouse into a club, but need to raise £56,000 to facilitate this. He has a life of freedom outside the home, but his family still have expectations about his future. He is due to have an arranged marraige to his cousin Jasmine from Pakistan, an extension is being built onto his parents house for them to live in.

Youngest daughter Tahara (Shabana Bakhsh)- Tahara is almost finished school and is applying to university in Edinburgh, she is keeping this secret as her family wish her to stay in Glasgow. She is envious of the freedom Casim has, as she is not allowed to go out to clubs with her friends. Tahara is a fiesty independant girl and in her opening scene she addresses her school assembly to tell them, "I am a Glasweigan, Pakistani, teenager woman of Muslim descent who supports Glasgow Rangers in a catholic school," ripping off her shirt to show her Rangers shirt underneath, "Because I'm a dazzlin' mixture and I'm proud of it!" the uproar which follows her passionate declaration is due to her football allegience rather than her racial origin.

Roisin Hanlon (Eva Birthistle) - Roisin is a young white Irish music teacher at Tahara's catholic school, she married when she was 19 but is now divorced in her early 20's. Roisin teaches in a Catholic school but does not practice her religion, her religious beliefs are not explored in this film and to some extent I felt her character was something of a blank page. There are no shown family or friends from which her character could be further explored, the only context of her character is shown through her teaching job and relationship with Casim.

******************

Directed by Ken Loach ('Kes'), this film is not glossy with fancy camera work and extravagent sets, the feel is 'real life' with all the bad wallpaper that entails. The actors are not well known, in fact some of them have never done previous film work, they have been cast not for who they are but because they are right for the part. The extra's inform that the cast were allowed to improvise, and this has added to the natural feel.

When Casim meets Roisin at his sister Tahara's school it quickly becomes clear this is a story of will (or indeed should) love conquer all? The repercussions are far reaching for Casim and his family's honour within their community, Roisin also encounters problems at the catholic school she teaches at. Writer Paul Laverty explores prejudice from many different angles, and this film does a very good job of seeing all sides of the situation equally. The best scenes in my opinion were those with the Khan family, in clumsier hands the parents could have been seen as simply being out of touch but in this film the motivation behind their action was clear and understandable. These characters were well rounded and not one dimensional stereotypes.

The love story to me was not the strongest element. The depth of their feeling for each other was shown in a very sexual way, but nothing convinced me that their relationship was anything other than an affair. I like to believe love will conquer all as much as the next romantic fool, but my underlying feeling was that this relationship was not the cause of Casim breaking away from his family but rather more symptomatic of his need to break away anyway. This is not a particularly great love story in my opinion, but a sensitive drama none the less.

There are also some much needed scenes of comic relief provided by the workmen who are building the extension for the Khan's, these work very well, are well timed and not over used.

*The Extra's*
1.) The Making Of (23 minutes long) -Interviews here with the Director (Ken Loach), the producer, writer, editor, and cast members. Interesting and not over long.
2.) Interview with Diector Ken Loach (46 minutes long) - From the Edinburgh Festival, questions from the audience. For Loach fans only, about 45 minutes too long for me.
3.) Deleted scenes (10 minutes) - Some of these have just been cut, some are bloopers, nothing especially entertaining here.
4.) Director (& writers) commentary - I didn't listen to this so can't comment.

This is a Film Four production, in English and Punjabi (the Punjabi is automatically subtitled), subtitles are only in English and I found them very useful for the opening school scenes when the Glasweigan accent was a little bit heavy for me!

Certificate 15, strong language and sex.
104 mins long (not overly long, just right in my opinion)

I rented this DVD for £1 at my local library but to buy it retails at £12.00-£15.00.
*Please ignore my comments on special effects and soundtrack, there were none but I could not leave the field blank.* 

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