LIFE SOMETIMES CONTAINS DIFFICULT CHOICES : "AE FOND KISS"

Well, entertainment is important, it is in fact the main “raison d’être” of the cinema. No one can deny, however, that it is also a brilliant opportunity for education and enlightenment if used correctly. The discussion has been going on for donkey’s years, no need to bash on about it now, but it is a fact. An important fact. So that is why it’s a good thing that there are guys like Ken Loach around. Loach is a brilliant director and every single film of his that I have watched has been gripping and technically brilliant. His aim, however, is not merely to take you to “another place” for a couple of hours and rest your weary brow. Oh no. If anything the aim is to weary your brow even further. Loach turns his camera on to what he considers (heck, what most of us consider) wrong with the world we live in today. And his unblinking stare always reveals food for thought – this film is no exception. Ae fond kiss is a look at the famous “multicultural” British society. Loach begs us to consider how well we are managing to live together in peace and harmony despite our differences. And true to style, the outlook is rather bleak…
Casim lives in Glasgow with his family. Their parents, devout Muslims, immigrated to the UK a long time ago; Casim and his two sisters were born and raised here, on that strange border between two cultures. The children go to school – Casim’s younger sister Tahara even goes to a Catholic school – and have friends of all colors and creeds; nevertheless the traditional values of Pakistan are still strong in the community and in the family. Casim is betrothed to his first cousin Jasmin who he has never met face to face; his older sister Rukshan has met her husband through the family and is preparing to marry him. For some it all may seem a touch strange, but on the whole everyone seems content. Until that is, fate brings Casim face to face with Roisin, a music teacher at Tahara’s school. It is love at first sight, they get on so well that it looks as if that they were meant to be together – if they don’t count the outside world of course. Casim has no idea how he will break the news to his parents and Roisin’s devout Catholic employers aren’t too happy about their carrying on either… In the end the question is simple, which will prevail? Love or society?
My God is this one a roller-coaster ride… The parts of Casim and Roisin are so well cast, and the characters and their concerns are so real that once you get into the film you cannot help but have your heart in your mouth until the last minute… Loach’s point, the way I see it, is that people, real people, are far more important than values and prejudices. After all, values and prejudices are both things human beings have put down for themselves. Once you step beyond them a whole new world opens up, and sometimes this is the world that is where you are meant to be. It is particularly hard to be the children of immigrants in a foreign country; on the one hand, for your parents values pertaining to your homeland are living and real, in some cases there is great pressure from the community of immigrants from the same country, everyone has their duty and responsibility… But then, as the children grow up, go to school and socialize a whole new world opens up before them with completely different values and ways of thinking. The choice is often an impossible one; between your family who loves you, cares and wants nothing but what they consider is best for you and your own life, the sheer fact that you yourself drew and followed your own path even if this turned out to be a complete mistake later…
And then there is the very blatant difficulty people have, despite what anyone could possibly say on the matter, with living together, harmoniously and respectfully with people who have completely different values from their own. Theoretically speaking there should be enough planet to go round for all of us but in fact, the simple act of two people falling in love and wanting to live together can cause families to fall apart and careers to end… It may sound ridiculous; it is in fact very, very real…