Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Dharmendra Singh The main reason why 'West is West' hasn't had the reception it wanted is that the point was already made with 'East is East'. 'East' struck a chord with British Muslims and others ethnically Indian. It was an affront to all the dads who came to Britain in the post-war decades and thought they could have their chapatti and eat it too. It championed individualism and mocked religion and tradition as obstacles to it.This sequel is five years on from 'East' and focuses on the youngest child, Sajid who, when we first met him, always wore an anorak and tried, vainly, to avoid 'the snip'. His dad Jehangir (or George as he re-Christened himself) sees in Sajid his last opportunity to convert one of his kid's from Salford lad to Pakistani Prince. George takes Sajid to Pakistan under the pretence that it will mature him; though his actual motivation is to carry out a forced marriage. Sajid resents this – he is English after all – and fights to escape. Of all his kids, George was only able to wield influence over one – Manir, a role reprised by Emil Marwa (doesn't he look like Dirk Bogarde?). We find him already living in Pakistan, desperately trying to find a wife. Although he clearly will not pursue the same path, Sajid assists his brother by finding him a suitable spouse. I was bothered by some of the supporting cast. They were histrionic and inauthentic. Part of Sajid's appeal in the first film (a different actor plays him here) was that he seldom spoke. He opens his gob way too much this time around, invariably to tell some innocent to 'f- off', which is precisely what I wanted him to do.George is again played without irony by Om Puri. He still refers to his kids as 'bloody bastards', and he still doesn't see the rank hypocrisy of marrying a non-Muslim whilst insisting his kids abide by a strict Muslim way of life. Where it loses humour it finds heart. That's its downfall. We see George's first wife – the one he left 30 years ago to marry Linda Bassett's character, Ella. She castigates but then too quickly forgives him for leaving her and their kids. It smacked of Bollywood and that put me right off.www.scottishreview.net

apq24 They say good things take time and this belated follow up to the 1999 hit East is East has been over a decade in the coming. Happy to say the wait has been worthwhile and writer Ayub Khan-Din has written a sequel that is every bit as much involving, fun and moving as the original. It's 1976 and Salford chip shop owner's George Khan(Om Puri)'s youngest son Sajid (Aqib Khan)- one of the offspring of his second marriage to feisty white northerner Ella (Linda Basset) is having a tough time at school and becoming a bit of a rebel. Determined to sort the lad out out George whips him off to the home town he himself hasn't been back to in 30 years in rural Pakistan. There he meets a slew of relatives including the Mrs Khan number 1 (Ila Aran) as well as Sajid's brother Maneer (Emil Marwa) who has been unsuccessfully searching for a wife. A series of tragi-comic events follow as Sajid's learns some important life lessons. George meanwhile faces something of an identity crises as he is forced to confront both his past and present. Following up Damian O'Donnel's 1999 original was never going to be an easy task but director produces a follow up that is worthy successor to the original. Performances are excellent across the board with the likes of Nadeem Sawalha, Lesley Nichol, Robert Pugh, Zita Sattar and Raj Bhansali, playing excellent supporting roles. There's a brief but amusing cameo by Jimmi Mistry who reprises his role as Sajid's elder brother Tariq but we don't get to find out what became of his other brothers Saleem, Abdul, Nazir and sister Meenah. Though with Khan-Din talking about a third film in the series hopefully we will get to find out in the next installment. All in all this is an excellent film which takes a light hearted but thought provoking look at themes of family,culture and identity.

colin_coyne WEST IS WEST, directed by ANDY DE EMMONY continues on from the 1999 hit film East is East (which was set in 1971).It is now 1976, in Salford, Manchester, England, and remaining members of the Khan family soldier on through their in-house, on-going struggle of the elder family members tradition Pakistani values and beliefs vs. the youngsters who were born in Britain and have an avid acceptance into the British culture … In the midst of this turmoil is the story of Sajid the youngest of the children who is now a teenager and is enduring some serious bullying at school … Many of the original cast from East is East make a welcome return including OM PURI as George Khan, LINDA BASSETT as Ella, JIMI MISTRY, as Tariq, LESLEY NICOL as Auntie Annie, and EMIL MARWA as Maneer and the film introduces a new face to the ongoing Khan family story AQIB KHAN as Sajid Khan.George Khan is still very much acting as the family dictator – enforcing his beliefs upon his family – much to their disdain … it is especially bad for Sajid and events soon come to a head, and George believes it would benefit him to take a trip to Pakistan to instill some much needed cultural discipline … in fact most of the film is set in rural Pakistan … Sajid, as expected, is uncomfortable and feels very much out of place in Pakistan … and has much difficulty in fitting in … the surprise however comes in the dramatic change that comes over George when he sees Mrs Khan No 1 (played very convincingly by ILA ARUN) and family in the Punjab, these are the wife and daughters he had abandoned 30 years earlier when he left to go to England. We soon discover that it is actually George who is most changed by the visit.Pretty soon, George decides to make up for some of his many, many shortcomings and decides to build a house and re-work the land … Sajid finally starts to bond with some friends … The pace of the film slows a little at this point … but only for a short while that is, until the ominous arrival from England of Ella Khan (Mrs Khan No 2), along with the hilarious Auntie Annie who swiftly follow to sort out the mess George has created – both past and present There is an especially good scene between the two Mrs. Khans (past and present) … who have a very moving dialogue (one only speaking Punjhabi, the other only English) … but all that needs to be said is expressed with emotion and body language … it is superbly acted, and to me … it's the best moment in the film I found WEST TO WEST to be an enjoyable, moving sequel – and recommend it highly … especially likable to those that enjoyed EAST is EAST.WEST IS WEST is 102mins long, is a 15 certificate and will be on general release from Friday 25th February 2011

Srujal Parik Amazing movie best star cast best story and direction I loved watching it two thumbs UP to Leslie the Producer . location was nice and costumes and story goes so smooth i was not able to get up to go out for break. I mean we can not categories the movie . its low budget with mainstream movie thats my view. also each and every cast did that part so well and especially Ompuri best actor in leading role. I would buy the DVD when its comes to market I would go back and watch again.worth watching movie.i would say location in Pakistan are amazing so real sets . story that touch my heart and feel like its my story and my view again two thumbs up to all crew and cast member of the movie.