Muslim propaganda from Ken Loach. Disgusting.

For the most part it takes a fairly balanced view of cultural identity and religion, but towards the end the message begins to get a bit more blunt and you feel the true views of Loach and Laverty begin to seep through. To be fair, the irrationality of Catholicism and Islam are both portrayed in equal measures. There's a nice, sweet romance at the centre, though, played very well by Birthistle and Yaqub. Non-British viewers may want to resort to subtitles at certain moments.

Thoughtful romance.

Ae fond kiss

Romeo & Juliet with a nice cultural twist.

"This love story is presented in a more intimate way than Loach devotees might expect. It is, dare we say it, his most commercial film for years..."

This was for the most part shallow and trite and basically just a regurgitation of the tired "cross-cultural Romeo & Juliet" cliché. Plot development is formulaic and predictable. The only thing that's really fresh here to the foreign viewer is all the Pakiscottish accent, a really funny mixture. Still, it's not ineffective and not at all unintelligent... it's Loach, after all.