Boy, has this movie gained significance since September 11. It's about a man whose son, Farid, grows to feel alienated in Northern England. His parents immigrated from Pakistan, but Farid has never been there. As an adult, he rejects his British culture to seek his Pakistani roots that he's never known. The film is about the father, Parvez, as he watches the boy, whom he has adored and doted on, slip into Islamic fundamentalism. At first he thinks his son is on drugs, but then he finds the truth. Which one would be worse?
This is a complicated film in that none of the characters are really good people. Parvez is a true gentleman who is completely tolerant of everyone around him, but he is essentially a pimp. He has a good heart, but his lack of morals is partly what pushes Farid toward the Islamic fanatics. Farid, on the other hand, does not have a good heart. He and the rest of his fanatical friends want to impose their rigid moral code on everyone else. When they fail, they resort to violence. Sound familiar? Can you say "Taliban?" It's this attitude that has spawned the terrorism we live with today.
This is a thought-provoking film that sheds some insight into the clash of the Eastern and Western cultures. When you see middle-class kids like Farid, who have been raised entirely in a western culture, turn to fundamentalist Islam, you know we're all in a lot of trouble.
This is a complicated film in that none of the characters are really good people. Parvez is a true gentleman who is completely tolerant of everyone around him, but he is essentially a pimp. He has a good heart, but his lack of morals is partly what pushes Farid toward the Islamic fanatics. Farid, on the other hand, does not have a good heart. He and the rest of his fanatical friends want to impose their rigid moral code on everyone else. When they fail, they resort to violence. Sound familiar? Can you say "Taliban?" It's this attitude that has spawned the terrorism we live with today.
This is a thought-provoking film that sheds some insight into the clash of the Eastern and Western cultures. When you see middle-class kids like Farid, who have been raised entirely in a western culture, turn to fundamentalist Islam, you know we're all in a lot of trouble.