Ae Fond Kiss...

Infobox Film
name = Ae Fond Kiss...


image_size =
caption = Movie poster
director = Ken Loach
producer = Rebecca O'Brien
writer = Paul Laverty
narrator =
starring = Atta Yaqub
Eva Birthistle
music = George Fenton
cinematography = Barry Ackroyd
editing = Jonathan Morris
distributor = Icon Film Distribution (UK)
released = flagicon|Germany 13 February 2004
flagicon|Australia 22 June 2004
flagicon|New Zealand 21 July 2004
flagicon|UK 17 September 2004
flagicon|USA 26 November 2004
runtime = 154 mins.
country = United Kingdom
Belgium
Germany
Italy
Spain
language = English, Punjabi
budget = £3,000,000 [ [http://www.filmfileeurope.com/profiles/production.asp?lang=en&p=5620#|A Film File Europe | Production profile ] ]
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:303202
imdb_id = 0380366

"Ae Fond Kiss..." (also known as "Just a Kiss") is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach, and starring Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle. The title is borrowed from a Scottish poem by Robert Burns, the complete line being "Ae fond kiss, and then we'll sever..."

Plot

Casim Khan (Yaqub) is a Glaswegian DJ of Pakistani origin. His devout Muslim parents, Tariq and Sadia, have arranged for him to marry his first cousin, Jasmine, and Casim is happy with the arrangement. Casim then meets and falls in love with Roisin (Birthistle), an Irish teacher working in a Catholic school. They then have to decide whether their love is strong enough to endure the repercussions of their actions and without the support of their respective communities. At the same time, Casim's younger sister, Tahara, struggles to find herself when she cannot gain the respect of either her Scottish schoolmates or her Pakistani relatives. Rukhsana, Casim's older sister, loses her fiancé because Casim's relationship brings dishonour to the family.

The film's central role is the theme of prejudice and cultural clashes, social differences and discrimination.

As with nearly all of Ken Loach's work, it centres around a society, how it functions and lives up to people, their differences and what they have in common

Production

"Ae Fond Kiss..." was filmed in Pollokshields. [ [http://www.filmfileeurope.com/profiles/production.asp?lang=en&p=5620#|A Film File Europe | Production profile ] ] a district in the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland.

DVD Release

The DVD release came out in Britain on selected release on 17 September 2004 on VHS , and on DVD in 2005. It had been released in France on 14 July 2004.

Reception

Critical reception towards the film was generally positive, with many critics lauding both Paul Laverty's script and the strong, naturalistic performances of the non-professional actors involved. It was generally seen as a traditional Romeo & Juliet-styled love story, and far less overtly political than Loach's other work. Mainly because of this, even those critics supportive of the film tended to see it as one of Loach's lesser films. [Bradshaw, Peter, [http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_Film_of_the_week/0,,1306044,00.html] , "The Guardian", 2004-09-17. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.] [French, Philip, [http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_review/0,,1307612,00.html] , "The Observer", 2004-09-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.] [ [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/fondkiss#critics] , "Metacritic". Retrieved on 2008-03-26.] [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/10004354-fond_kiss/] , "Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved on 2008-03-26.]

Awards

2004

* Won Berlin International Film Festival - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
* Won Berlin International Film Festival - Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas
* Nominated Berlin International Film Festival - Golden Bear for Best Motion Picture
* Nominated British Independent Film Awards - Best Actress "(Eva Birthistle)", Best Screenplay "(Paul Laverty)", Most Promising Newcomer "(Atta Yaqub)"
* Nominated International Filmfest Emden - Emden Film Award
* Won European Film Awards - Best Screenwriter "(Paul Laverty)"
* Won Irish Film and Television Awards - IFTA Award for Best Actress "(Eva Birthistle)"
* Won Valladolid International Film Festival - Audience Award
* Won Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike Award
* Won Motovun Film Festival - Propeller of Motovun

2005

* Won London Film Critics Circle - ALFS Award for Best Actress of the Year "(Eva Birthistle)"
* Won César Award - Best European Union Film "(Meilleur film de l'Union Européenne)"

References

External links

*
* [http://www.filmfileeurope.com/profiles/production.asp?lang=en&p=5620#|A full profile from FilmFileEurope.com]

ee also

* New Scots
* Society
* Culture
* Honour
* Robert Burns
* Ken Loach
* Asian-Scots