"The filmmaker's scope expands to take in Casim's parents and two sisters, whose public shame and private despair at having the only son move in with a 'goree' -- a white girl -- is made palpably, wrenchingly real." Chuck Wilson L.A. WEEKLY "Ae fond kiss offers us a slice of life that is truly wonderful in all its simplicity and realism. Ken Loach's film ranks among the years best." Boyd Van Hoeij EUROPEANFILMS.NET "[Loach] manages to reach beyond social debate to touch you on an emotional level." Alan Morrison EMPIRE MAGAZINE UK "Loach deftly, delicately balances the political and the personal and gets tender performances from his ridiculously charming leads." E! ONLINE "Although Loach takes pains to present all sides of the issues he raises, he courageously faces up to the truth about people's lives, which is his abiding strength." Kevin Thomas LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Although this may sound like feelgood fluff, it's directed by Ken Loach, responsible for some of the most gritty kitchen sink dramas in the history of British cinema." NINEMSN REVIEWS "Though the theme is a simple one, Loach handles it with considerable affection; this is not only his sexiest film ever, but it's one of his most heartfelt, and the lovely performances by Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle and members of the supporting cast augment the film's basic humanity." David Stratton ATTHEMOVIES ABC ".. and there's a lovely musical theme through the whole thing, with grand pianos and guitars and music, it's gorgeous. 4 stars from me." Margaret Pomeranz ATTHEMOVIES ABC "Excellent dialogue and wonderfully observed minor moments add up to enjoyable entertainment, while the more serious tones are carried by the film's muscly, well forged scenes. Avoiding the sentimentalisation of the story, Loach tells it like it is. (And as Paul Laverty wrote it.) And it surely is a drama, not a comedy, for all its moments of levity." Andrew L Urban URBANCINEFILE

The Inside Story

"Essentially a love story, Ae Fond Kiss has been described as an uncharacteristically “optimistic” Ken Loach movie, an up close and personal snapshot of two lovers caught in the crossfire of culture clash." Megan Spencer SBS MOVIE SHOW

Just mentioning the name Ken Loach is enough to send follows of 'art house' or 'indie' style films into a state of rapture. His latest offering "A Fond Kiss" will no doubt provide his numerous followers with another opportunity to sing the praises of this talented director. The beauty of Loach's film is they are so earthy. They reflect life so well. About the nearest we'd come to the Ken Loach style of filmmaking in an Australian production is with films such as "Tom White" or "Silent Partner". Cinemagoers who have seen both films and are followers of Loach will be nodding their heads with approval. They know full well what I'm alluding to. Loach's latest film is, shock horror, a romantic drama laced with moments of great humour. For me it had a special connection for "A Fond Kiss" is a love story cutting across both race and religious barriers. "A Fond Kiss" is like many of Loach's films, a political statement. The screenplay by Paul Laverty focusses on our ever changing times and in particularly this post 9/11 period we are now living in. It is also the fifth time Laverty and Loach have collaborated on a film. "A Fond Kiss" is the story two young people deeply in love and the cultural clash that love generates. Casim Khan is a bright young man born in the UK of Pakistani parents who still hold near and dear their Muslim faith and family traditions. His situation is compounded by the imminent arrival of his Aunty and her daughter. Casim is bound to his cousin by an arranged marriage. Roisin Hanlon is a young music teacher who is Catholic by faith, works in a catholic school and is divorced. It makes for wonderful viewing as Laverty has obviously put a lot of research into his story. I know because I found a personal connection with "A Fond Kiss". You see one of my daughters married into a Pakistani Muslim family. While that has raised many problems both cultural and religious and as a concerned parent caused a number of heartaches, I have been blessed with four beautiful grandchildren who I loved dearly. But as one guest pointed out to me as we discussed my personal issues and the merits of the film over coffee after an invitation screening at Trak Cinemas, she too found a connection in "A Fond Kiss". She had married into an Italian family at a time when the old order ruled the roost. The point I'd like to make here is that while "A Fond Kiss" has a singular focuss, it is in fact a universal story which many who have entered into inter-racial marriages will understand and appreciate. "A Fond Kiss" is a film that candidly tackles the dilemas faced by those who enter into a mixed marriage [or a relationship with someone from a strong cultural background] and the many hurdles those cultural and religious traditions can place in the path of love, tolerance, understanding and personal happiness. It can turn into a real melting pot. Believe me! The scenes where Casim clashes with his parents [who by the way have lived in Scotland for forty years] have most probably been played out thousands of times around the world. While it's easy to empathize with Casim one should never lose sight of the fact that Loach and Laverty are making a strong point for his parents too. Should they be forced to compromise their tradition and cultural values? After so many years of striving to provide for Casim and his sisters should they be shamed by their sons actions? On the other side of the coin Loach and Laverty show how Riosin is walking into a political and religious minefield. Is Muhammad a greater prophet than Jesus? Should the church rubber stamp her living with a muslim and allow her to teach to Catholic children in a Catholic funded private school? "A Fond Kiss" answers every challEnge with great credibility thanks to those mainly unknown actors and actresses who appear in it. No it is not a heavy film laden down with burgeoning challenges that will weary the viewer. Far from it! "A Fond Kiss" is just a lovely film. A love story with hope. One which will leave Loach fans hoping it's not too long to his next little masterpiece on life. What They Had To Say "We wanted a family that was Pakistani but also Glaswegian, both in how they spoke and in their terms of reference. Some actors can do a passable imitation but it's not authentic unless you've actually been born there." ... Ken Loach.
"I was with a white girl, for four years, and even then, I'd be walking along the street with her, holding hands, and if I saw a man with a beard, I'd drop her hand straightaway. I couldn't get it out of my head, the idea that the community was watching me." ...Atta Yaqub
"Ken casts as close to the character as he can, and I think Roisin and I are very alike. We're both pretty independent and down-to-earth. We don't take any bullshit." .... Eva Birthistle
"I went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama audition by myself. My mum wasn't keen; she was worried about how it would look to the community. In the end, she said it was alright, so long as I became a drama teacher rather than an actress." ...Shabana Bakhsh
"When I heard that Ken wanted to see me, I was thrilled! I was jumping about! It wasn't about the money - you only need your bread and butter, don't you? - but the chance to work with such a great man." ... Shamshad Akhtar
"Tariq is too rigid. He's like many of the old guards of the Asian community: behind the times. They need to adapt themselves because there's a generation gap of crisis proportions opening up." .... Ahmad Riaz
"It was the happiest moment of my life, getting this part. I don't buy into the arranged marriage idea. Suddenly to spend your whole life with a stranger? No way. I like my life. Wouldn't change it for anything less than what I have." ... Ghizala Avan
"I was the only person who went home and learnt their lines. No-one else did. And when lines kept changing and people kept doing their own thing, I was thrown. "Now I understand why he does what he does; it all makes sense to me. He captures a spontaneity you couldn't get any other way. But it just seemed so chaotic before." ... Shabana Bakhsh
"All day he worked on the buses, and I didn't have anyone to talk to. I had to learn English from the telly, looking up the words in a dictionary. The shop, which was part of your own community - it was like my family when my husband wasn't there. There were always people there, sitting in chairs, always something to eat." ... Shamshad Akhtar.
Forced at the age of 14 into a marriage that turned out to be deeply unhappy and often violent, Shamshad Akhtar found herself removed from her homeland to the cold and alien city of Glasgow. Prior to her arranged marriage, "Shamshad had taken drama classes in school, and after she left her marriage, she took up drama again." Crew Bytes "A FOND KISS" was .......
directed by FIPRESCI International Critics Prize and Felix Award winner Ken Loach ["Poor Cow", "Kes", "My Name Is Joe", "Bread and Roses" and "The Navigators"]; screenplay by Paul Laverty ["Carla's Song", "My Name Is Joe", "Bread and Roses", "Sweet Sixteen", "The Navigators", "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Sweet Sixteen"]; costume design by Carole Miller ["Orphans"]; production design by Martin Johnson ["The Gamekeeper", "Fatherland", "Ladybird Ladybird" and "My Name Is Joe"]; edited by Jonathan Morris ["Riff-Raff", "Hidden Agenda", "Ladybird Ladybird", "My Name Is Joe", "Bread and Roses", and ""The Navigators""]; cinematography by Barry Ackroyd ["Bread and Roses", "Beautiful People", "Bread and Roses", "Very Annie Mary" and "Sweet Sixteen"]; original music by George Fenton ["My Name Is Joe", "You've Got Mail", "Bread and Roses" and "Hitch"] produced by Rebecca O'Brien ["Land and Freedom", "Bean: The Movie", "Princesa" and "Senses"]. Casting About "A FOND KISS" stars .......
Atta Yaqub ["Ae Fond Kiss"]; Shamshad Akhtar ["Ae Fond Kiss"]; Ghizala Avan ["Ae Fond Kiss"]; Gerard Kelly ["Blind Date", "Scotch & Wry" and "Caught in the Act"]; John Yule ["Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself", "Young Adam" and "Sixteen Years of Alcohol"]; Gary Lewis ["Shallow Grave", "California Sunshine", "The Elevator", "The Fall of Shug McCracken" and "Gangs of New York"]; David McKay ["The Girl in the Picture", "Braveheart", "Les Misérables" and "Once Upon a Time in the Midlands"]; Ruth McGhie ["Captain Jack"]; Tommy McKee ["Sweet Sixteen"] and Eva Birthistle ["Drinking Crude", "Miracle At Midnight", "Bloody Sunday" and "Timbuktu"] as Roisin Hanlon. What It's All About

"The performances of Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle are beautiful to watch, and they get our full sympathy from the get go. Loach has always proceeded from a deep empathy with ordinary people facing ordinary problems, which is, in a way, the stuff of life." Julian Wood FILMINK

The arrows of love fly when Casim meets his little sisters music teacher Roisin. Casim invites her to the dance club where he performs as a DJ. He tells her of his plans to open his own dance club and she is impressed. They get along well and are soon lovers. But Casim and Roisin come from vastly different cultural backgrounds. He is the son of Pakistani migrant parents who have devoted their lives to providing for the future of their son and two daughters. Casim is betrothed to his Aunties daughter and his Aunty will arrive in a few weeks time to finalize an arranged marriage between the two families. Casim hasn't told Roisin. Roisin is an attractive young Irish Catholic woman working in a local Catholic school as a music teacher. As yet doesn't have a full time contract. She is free spirited, loves life and has already been married and divorced. When Casim sneaks off to Spain for a short holiday with her, he realizes the error of his ways. Not the error of his heart, but of his cultural upbringing. Telling Roisin of his impending marriage tears the heart out of Roisin. Their return home sets the two lovers up for a battle to survive two religious based traditions. Casim's parents are bound by Muslim traditions. Roisin is bound by Catholic traditions. Will tradition win over love, or will they end their affair with Ae Fond Kiss The Verdict "When Ken Loach puts his name to a film you can be assured he's not going to treat it's subject matter lightly. As he did with "The Navigators", "My Name Is Joe" and "Sweet Sixteen" Loach takes the audience into the heartland. "Ae Fond Kiss" is filled with gritty performances from a mainly unknown cast. It is this rawness that gives Loach's films great credibility. Exploring the cultural hurdles of mixed race, mixed religion relationships makes for a most entertaining watch. Highly Recommended." The Cast

Atta Yaqub Eva Birthistle Shamshad Akhtar Ghizala Avan Shabana Bakhsh Ahmad Riaz Shy Ramsan Gerard Kelly John Yule Gary Lewis David McKay Raymond Mearns Emma Friel Ruth McGhie Pasha Bocarie Sunna Mirza Tommy McKee

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Casim Khan Roisin Hanlon Sadia Khan Rukhsana Khan Tahara Khan Tariq Khan Hammid Parish Priest Headmaster Danny Wee Roddie Big Roddie Annie Mary Nolan Amar Jasmine Dog walker

The Crew Directed by Ken Loach Written by Paul Laverty Produced by Rebecca O'Brien Executive Produced by Ulrich Felsberg Original Music by George Fenton Cinematography by Barry Ackroyd Film Editing by Jonathan Morris Casting by Kahleen Crawford Production Design by Martin Johnson Art Direction by Ursula Cleary & Fergus Clegg Costume Design by Carole Miller Post-Production Supervisor Shuna Frood Run Time 104 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Castle Hill Productions - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved