West is West

[vanillateapot]

Just been to see this and thought it was really good. Quite sentimental and not as funny as East is East but I still enjoyed it. One question is: did everyone have subtitles because a lot of the parts there wasn't any? I'm not sure if the cinema has made a mistake with the projecting or whether it was supposed to be like this? for instance when George is talking to his wife from Pakistan there were no subtitles?

[Beate]

We arrived at the Empire Leicester Square at 9.45am and already there was a queue! This led me to believe it would be shown in the big screen 1 and thankfully I was right and they also opened the door pretty quickly and let everyone in.

The film was ok but not really my thing although I laughed a couple of times. The people around me (mostly the target audience I guess) liked it a lot though, I have never heard so much chatting and laughing. Pretty disruptive actually, as the people in the row in front of us shifted themselves constantly too. They also had a mobile phone each which they couldn't put away until the start of the film.

Honestly, there was some serious mobile phone-itis displayed this morning. For God's sake, control your addiction, people. You're only happy if you are online until a second before the film and then you have to check every half hour that the world hasn't bypassed you since you were in the screening?

And can someone tell me why all Pakistani people apparently go back to Pakistan to marry even if they have never lived there, talk broad Manchester accent and are going back to live in England? And are all marriages agreed on the basis of "I have seen you for 30 seconds and like you because you look like Nana Mouskouri?" Not that I mind, I just don't understand it. It'd be like me going to Germany to look for a Joseph Fiennes-lookalike, then shipping him back over.

6.5/10

[Sunny Saver]

I went not expecting to like it as I really liked East is East. I watched E is E on Friday on More 4 in preparation, but found it dated, however, I found West is West much funnier and enjoyed it more.

8/10 from me.

[valda]

And can someone tell me why all Pakistani people apparently go back to Pakistan to marry even if they have never lived there, talk broad Manchester accent and are going back to live in England? And are all marriages agreed on the basis of "I have seen you for 30 seconds and like you because you look like Nana Mouskouri?" Not that I mind, I just don't understand it. It'd be like me going to Germany to look for a Joseph Fiennes-lookalike, then shipping him back over.

6.5/10

and what is wrong with that

[aruif]

i wasn't sure what to expect, whilst i found east is east funny i didn't like it hugely. this though i loved! it was really funny, and laughter was loud throughout from the audience. i thought it was quite touching in parts too.

that kid was great!! he made me laugh so much!

[zildjian]

that kid was great!! he made me laugh so much!

Couldnt agree more!

[funthing29]

I saw this at Odeon Holloway today and the cinema was only about one third full which is such a shame. I'm glad I watched East Is East yesterday which prepared me to understand the dynamics of the dysfunctional Khan family.

This was a touching little film which had a refreshing mixture of comedy and pathos. I thought this was a unique insight into a foreign culture. I wish there would have been more appearances from the other siblings. Jimi Mistry was criminally underused! This had some laugh out loud moments but not as funny as East Is East. The film was a touch too long and dragged in the middle.

It was also really hard to sympathise with George for abandoning his family in Pakistan. In East Is East, I felt sorry for him as his children rebelled from being stuck under his iron thumb. Here the man literally abandoned his wife and children and this is meant to be excusable? He never even justifies this decision by saying he fell in love – thereby implying that when he moved to England, he had no intention of returning to his Pakistani wife. The emotional theme of reconciliation with estranged family members felt jammed down my throat after a while.

A charming film which does what it says on the tin. It falls short of the standard set by East Is East but was enjoyable on its own merit. I rate it 7/10.

[redgigha]

I saw this in Glasgow this morning and really enjoyed it. Having read some previosu posts, and loving East is East, I had prepared myself to be disappointed. I definitely wasn't.

Whilst it was different to East is East it was really good in its own right. It's not the sort of film that is likely to win awards but it lovely to watch and allows you to leave the cinema feeling good.

[Yinster]

Saw it in Glasgow too this morning and tbh I didn't really need to see East is East to make sense of this one. I thought it was long at parts and about the same standard as the first one. I think it might to do with George being a hard character to like. Him leaving his first family and you empathising with his family rather than with him.

[havingascreen]

that kid was great!! he made me laugh so much!

Couldnt agree more!

Hearty laughter from the audience in Dunfermline too (another venue option for me as its only 20 mins from my home in Edinburgh ).

Like a lot of other watchers i too went with lower expectations as loved East is East but this film was all the more culturally enhanced, loved the insight into the way marriages happen in a lot of muslim cultures - marriage first, relationship second - kept it authentic. The wise man letting the boy 'discover' his heritage, his pal, brilliant characters.

It was also really hard to sympathise with George for abandoning his family in Pakistan. In East Is East, I felt sorry for him as his children rebelled from being stuck under his iron thumb. Here the man literally abandoned his wife and children and this is meant to be excusable? He never even justifies this decision by saying he fell in love – thereby implying that when he moved to England, he had no intention of returning to his Pakistani wife. The emotional theme of reconciliation with estranged family members felt jammed down my throat after a while.

This part had me tearing up at the first wife's loss. i don't think the film portrayed his abondonment as excusable, rather it showed George racked with guilt but going back to try to make amends the only way he knew how. When Ella turned up he knew it was her that he really loved whereas before he was confused by his guilt.

I'd give it a 8/10