East Is East
1999 · Movie · R · 97 min · ★ 6.5 · 76% critics
Set in 1971 Salford, a Pakistani Muslim chip-shop owner expects his Britain-born children to follow strict family rules on dress, food, religion, and everyday life. But his family increasingly identifies as British and pushes back, turning cultural expectations and family tension into a worsening clash at home.
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Details
- Years
- 1999
- Release date
- 1999-05-14
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Critic score
- 76/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.5/10 (223 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a tense, darkly comedic look at family life and cultural conflict in 1970s Britain; Not for you if you dislike stories with domestic violence or prefer a consistently light comedy like The French Dispatch or Beautiful People.
Pros: darkly funny culture clash; strong family performances; tense, grounded moments | Cons: brutal domestic violence content; not a consistently light comedy; divisive portrayal of faith
Themes
- daughter
- jealousy
- muslim
- northern england
- hippie
- religious education
- parent child relationship
- faith
- tradition
- culture clash
- 1970s
- modern society
- +4 more
Awards & recognition
- European Film Award — Best Screenwriter · 1999 · nominated
Cast & crew
Om Puri
as George Khan
Linda Bassett
as Ella Khan
- IA
Ian Aspinall
as Nazir Khan
Jimi Mistry
as Tariq Khan
Archie Panjabi
as Meenah Khan
- JR
Jordan Routledge
as Sajid Khan
Chris Bisson
as Saleem Khan
Lesley Nicol
as Auntie Annie
Emil Marwa
as Maneer Khan
Raji James
as Abdul Khan
Directed by Damien O'Donnell