Like Being A Fly On The Wall

Ae Fond Kiss is set in Glasgow & deals with mixed race relationships, religion, culture barriers, love & clashing attitudes.

The story centres around the contraversial relationship between Pakistani Muslim Casim & Irish Catholic Roisin, and the conflicts the two face in both their communities. Its a very typical Romeo & Juliet style story, but its done in an refreshing & powerful way. I don't like love stories, but this is one of my favourite ever films.

What I adored about this film (apart from the fact it is set in my own city), is just how real it is. The acting isn't Hollywood flawless, watching the characters really does feel like you're listening in on someone else's life. It makes it that more powerful & touching, that you could simply be a fly on their wall. The film also deals with the issues in a very pure way, without any blatent stereotyping and without siding with any one case. As a viewer, you are given freedom to make up your own mind about who is right, who is wrong, or if it can be so black & white.

As a white, non-religious Scottish woman, I felt the film taught me more about the cultures that I live beside yet understood very little about. That is one of the things I loved about the film, that it opened my eyes. All too often film makers seem to stay in the safe zones, or at least stick with the preconceived views of the target audience. With other films in a similar vein (East Is East, for example), I was left with little understanding about why exactly issues that were covered are such a big deal. Ae Fond Kiss taught me to understand these issues just that little bit more.