| RATING: | 100% |
| FORMAT: | DVD |
Excellent study of religious fundamentalism's effects on a young couple who decide to cross ethnic-boundaries. Additionally, a cogent critique of the War on Terror's inherent White bias that can only lead to the torture chamber. With no sign of guilt-ridden White sentimentality about Muslim characters since each speaks his own point-of-view, not just the White writer's. In this regard, Paul LAVERTY is to be congratulated for showing Muslims as they really are and not as they are often seen.
Kenneth LOACH presents the poor as people and not as stereotypes. Blacks are also presented positively which, for a Wwhite filmmaker, is unusual. This, indeed, is his main contribution to cinema: Visual naturalism coupled with psychological realism. Most filmed drama is psychologically unrealistic, because it is stereotypal rather than archetypal. Attempts are most often made to culturally pigeonhole fictional characters so as to give vent to the absurd political positions of the writers; while little is done to elucidate human nature, as such. In Loach's work, the tail never wags the dog: Characters conform to archetypes and not any of the neurotic needs of sad people.
White culture's generalised White supremacism is depicted, as well as the inevitablly-negative Muslim response to such an ethnic closed-door policy, for their safety's sake, when it comes to so-called social integration. Catholics are shown as medievalist bigots; Muslims as feeding-off their resentment at everyday prejudice - both serve to part-maim their offspring with an over-sensitivity to the opinions of others. This suggests religion has been the single greatest cause of intolerance in history; and yet many of the children shown here still choose to grow into more fully-rounded human beings.
Eva BIRTHISTLE gives the best performance here as the White girl (goree) thrust by her love for a Muslim boy into the emotional maelstrom of Romeo-and-Juliet-style sexual and racial politics.
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