Ae Fond Kiss

A champion of the downtrodden, nobody does indignant social outrage with quite the same fervour as Ken Loach, and he and his long time screen-writing collaborator, Paul Laverty give themselves plenty of scope with Ae Fond Kiss. A provocative drama with strong racial undertones, the film follows the Khans, three Pakistani young men living in Glasgow. While the eldest Rukhsana (Avan) is happy enough to follow the wishes of his parents (Riaz and Bakhsh) that he enters an arranged marriage, his youngest sibling Sadia (Akhtar) isn't too taken with the idea of traditionalism. Meanwhile, the middle brother Casim (Yaqub) is caught between his two brothers' conflicting desires, unable to decide which path to follow until he falls in love with a young Irish school teacher (Birthistle).

Films about emigrant families in the midst of ideological and moral struggles are nothing new, but Roach and Laverty invest a rich emotional dexterity into Ae Fond Kiss. Unsparing in his critical observations, Loach looks at the mass of contradictions in all the cultures on examination here and never lays anything out in neat, easily digestible packages. I know what you're thinking - worthy but dull. And indeed, it probably would be if it wasn't for the sheer dynamism of the performances Loach elicits from his young talented cast, and the intelligent restraint employed by its director.