East is East

This study guide will help you analyze the film East is East (1999) directed by Damien O'Donnell. You can also find a summary of the events, as well as inspiration for interpreting the film and putting it into perspective. 

Damien O'Donnell is an Irish film director and writer. East is East was his debut film and it earned him several nominations and awards, among them the Empire Award for Best Newcomer.

The film East is East is a comedy-drama film about a British-Pakistani family. The father, a Pakistani immigrant, wants to make his children follow Pakistani religion and culture, even against their will, which leads to situations which are both tragic and comical.

The film was well received by both the audience and critics. It was nominated for several BAFTAS and won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. 

Excerpt from the study guide:

Culture clash and multiculturalism

Another important theme in the film is that of culture clash. We can witness throughout the film the clash between two cultures – the traditional Pakistani culture represented by George and the modern British culture, represented by Ella, and the environment they are living in. The children are subjected to both these influences, but most of them feel the influence of the British culture more strongly and reject George’s attempts to make them follow Pakistani traditions (with the sole exception of Maneer). Tariq outright tells his father he is not Pakistani, so he does not feel any inclination to behave like one.

The mullah remarks to George from the beginning that “they are different” (00:11:03). By ‘they’ we assume that he means mixed–race children or second-generation immigrants. Their double heritage exposes them to two different cultures, the values of which may clash. 

The participation of the Khan children in the Christian procession at the beginning of the film shows how much they want to fit in with other children their age from the neighborhood. However, they are forced at some point to separate from the procession, and are seen running on a parallel street, to avoid being seen by George (00:02:34). This is telling of how they cannot yet fit in as much as they would like to. They are still divided from the rest, but, since they rejoin the procession in the end, after George no longer has them in sight, which suggests that in the future, after they have escaped George’s influence, they will be able to find their own place in society ...