Title: Ae Fond Kiss (also: A Fond Kiss)
Production Year: 2004
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Atta Yaqub, Eva Birthistle
Rating: 4,5/5
Reviewer: Marieke van Straaten, teacher student of English.
“Ae Fond Kiss”
is not your typical Scottish film although it takes place in Glasgow. There are
no kilts, people do not eat haggis nor drink Scotch, and you will not hear a
single note from a bagpipe. On the contrary, the main characters are Irish and
Pakistani, and the movie portrays their growing fondness of each other and the
sacrifices that come with their relationship.
Casim is from a
religious Muslim family that have faced many difficulties living among
Westeners. Whereas his parents and older sister are very traditional, his younger
sister is rebellious and Casim himself is split between following his heart or
pleasing his family by marrying his cousin.
Irish Roisin is
Catholic and works as a music teacher at the local Catholic school where she is
very popular amongst both co-workers and students. Although she is religious,
her belief is more liberal than the local priest wishes, and her school has very
strong ties to the church.
Casim and
Roisin form a relationship, but is their love strong enough to endure the
consequences of their different cultural and religious backgrounds?
Identity is one
of the main themes, and we see that through the relationship of the main
characters, both raised to behave and live life a certain way and now having to
decide for themselves whether they fit into the expectations laid out for them
by their surroundings. Another important theme in this movie is
interculturality and about the meeting between two different cultures.
There is no
doubt that this movie is highly recommendable for teaching cultural identity
and that it can contribute to developing the students’ intercultural
understanding, but it is debatable whether there could be more suitable options
for teaching Scotland.
The movie does
not portray an issue typically Scottish, as clashing cultures is something we
experience almost everywhere nowadays. If the aim of watching this movie is to
learn about Scottish culture, the movie will only provide an insight into a
small fraction of Scottish society. However, this is a part of Scotland the way
Scottish people experience it; everyday Scotland is not only about kilts,
haggis and bagpipes.
On a final
note: One of my favorite things about this movie is that it does not portray
only one party as the villain. Many movies have been made about similar topics
and the film is most often in favor of the “white people” while especially
Muslims and their traditions are seen as being in the wrong. In this movie you
will see that the Catholic church is just as, if not more, conservative and
restrictive as the Muslim society.
All in all, I think this movie deserves a 4,5 rating out of 5 because of its unique perspective on the issues portrayed.
