This is a film of love in a Glasgow cultural melting pot. With his Pakistani family long resident in the UK, Casim meets, and falls in love with his young sister's Irish Catholic music teacher. Both Muslim and Catholic tradition reject mixed marriages and relationships so the couple face grave obstacles to their happiness - starting with Casim's engagement to a cousin he hardly knows.
The couple themselves - Casim played by first-time actor Atta Yaqub and Roisin played by Eva Birthistle - feel comfortable in their roles most of the time as does Casim's younger sister Tahara (Shabana Bakhsh). Some of the other actors, many of whom were not professionals, don't seem so confident. In places the delivery is stilted and occasionally people fluff their lines.
Ken Loach, the director, is almost revered for crafting gritty Northern dramas and as such I wonder if some reviewers here haven't given him a bit of an easy ride. This kind of culture clash is difficult to depict and it shows bravery from Loach to attempt it. However, in places the dialogue doesn't feel natural and there are rough edges to the plot. The screenplay also depicts Casim as a bit spineless particularly in one family argument where he's oddly silent.
It's a moving film though, and the dilemmas are real. I'm not sure I found the resolution so convincing.
The couple themselves - Casim played by first-time actor Atta Yaqub and Roisin played by Eva Birthistle - feel comfortable in their roles most of the time as does Casim's younger sister Tahara (Shabana Bakhsh). Some of the other actors, many of whom were not professionals, don't seem so confident. In places the delivery is stilted and occasionally people fluff their lines.
Ken Loach, the director, is almost revered for crafting gritty Northern dramas and as such I wonder if some reviewers here haven't given him a bit of an easy ride. This kind of culture clash is difficult to depict and it shows bravery from Loach to attempt it. However, in places the dialogue doesn't feel natural and there are rough edges to the plot. The screenplay also depicts Casim as a bit spineless particularly in one family argument where he's oddly silent.
It's a moving film though, and the dilemmas are real. I'm not sure I found the resolution so convincing.