EAST IS EAST

A man oppresses his family in order to preserve his religion in EAST IS EAST. Despite his own choice to marry his second wife, a British woman, he refuses to allow his sons by the same woman to choose whom they marry. He attempts to rule their lives because of his desire to follow traditional Pakistani culture, but his stubbornness eventually takes its toll on the family.

George Khan (Om Puri) is a Pakistani man who lives with his British wife and their five children in Manchester, England. It is 1971, and despite modern views and culture, George wants to raise his children in the Arabic tradition. Though they appear obedient on the surface, they often do things behind their father’s back to rebel, including what they eat, how they dress, and what they say and do. Sometimes this mischief is done with their mother, Ella’s (Linda Bassett), knowledge, because she understands their desire to be free and modern. The children are not miscreants: while Ella doesn’t always agree with George’s ways, she pushes the children to show respect to their father and is sympathetic to their feelings.

One day, George decides that it is time for the eldest son to be married and arranges the marriage. The son, who has no desire for the arrangement, tries to follow through but flees during the wedding ceremony. At this George banishes him and begins telling others that he only has five children, while his son runs away to live on his own.

Other situations deal with the clash between religion and society. When Sajid, the youngest boy, is caught urinating on the wall at his Arabic school, the instructor catches him and is horrified to see that eight-year-old Sajid has not been circumcised. George, upon hearing this, declares that it must be done, much to the dismay of Sajid and his mother. Although she doesn’t say much, Ella realizes that things are coming to a point where she must speak up.

When George decides to arrange marriages for two of his other sons, he goes to a Pakistani store and purchases the wedding garb for the ceremony. Sajid hears his parents debating over the arranged marriage and eventually tells his siblings. They discover the clothing that has been purchased, and one rebellious son destroys all of the attire. George discovers another son cleaning up the mess in an attempt to appease the father. Yet, when George asks the son who did it, the son refuses to speak. George takes this son to his shop and beats him. Ella, who witnesses the beating, immediately tries to stop George, only to end up beaten and abused. Ultimately, as the children stand up for themselves and their mother, George is faced with the realization that he cannot continue to force them to follow his ways.

EAST IS EAST begins as a funny story of a bi-racial family’s quirks and relationships, only to become a heavy-handed drama of the family’s emotional distress caused by a father’s unrealistic desires. In the beginning, Ella’s relationship with her husband George is depicted as loving and light-hearted, but by the end of the movie he is constantly yelling at her, insulting and beating her. This movie is filled with numerous obscenities and contains some verbal abuse. Despite its start as a funny, upbeat movie, the story is tough in its depiction of a family being ripped apart by a father’s unwillingness to listen to and respect his children. Portraying a father’s selfishness, rebellious children and a strong sense of religious practice, EAST IS EAST is a lesson in the emptiness of having faith in ritual, rather than a full, loving relationship with Jesus Christ.