Even if you didn't know everything points out to the previous "entry" that was called East is east. So they thought they'd make another movie with immigration and other problems crammed into one movie. Actually the movie has really high ambitions trying to light even the grayest of areas and everything that surrounds it.Unfortunately though the ambitions might have been to high to reach. It's not a bad movie by any means, but trying to juggle all the threads of the story proves to be more than difficult. It does seem to stir away from time to time instead of focusing on certain problems. Which in itself wouldn't be a bad thing, but again it doesn't have total control of everything that goes on, which might leave you with an unsatisfying feeling.

East is East was a very enjoyable movie, with a great cast and a perfect balance between the funny and the poignant. West is West is a more than worthy successor. I agree some of the secondary characters were little more than caricatures and while there are some funny moments both visually and in the script, some of the humour does for my tastes get rather slapsticky. That said, it is a good-looking film and has a great well-paced story complete with a well-observed look at the cultural divide. The soundtrack appeals, the script sparkles with a number of moving and identifiable scenes and West is West is directed beautifully. Once again, Om Puri and Linda Bassett are outstanding in the leads, and while a brat at first Sajid wins you over in the end. Jimi Mistry's cameo was neat but all too brief. Overall, worthy sequel and a very good film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

*Note: I did not see the prequel East is East, but this film is self-contained and I was perfectly able to watch it on it's own. Set in 1970's England, West is West is a story about a family with a Pakistani Father and a Caucasian Mother. Aqib Khan plays Sajid, who is a budding teenager going through a tough time in his life. He is being bullied at school, waging war with his parents, and stealing things while he plays hooky. In order to straighten him out Sajid's father George played by Om Puri, takes him back to his ethnic roots in Pakistan.As soon as they get off the plane Sajid aggressively resists his new surroundings. Wanting nothing more than to return back home to his English life Sajid drags his feet hating the clothes, the people, and especially the fact that his house is without plumbing. However, slowly though the help of a friendship and a wise guru Sajid learns to calm his heart and appreciate his Pakistani identity. The father George in tandem has issues of his own. For 20 plus years he has lived a double life leaving behind his 1st Pakistani wife and some children. Neglected most of their lives the only thing his Pakistani family have received over the decades are checks in the mail and the occasional scribblings on paper. Withered and aged George's Pakistani wife wishes George had never returned to reignite her conflicting feelings of obligation and resentment.This film is as much about George as it is about Sajid but there are also a host of other characters in this film with stories of their own. There is George's English wife who must reconcile with her Pakistani alternate. A task seemingly impossible when words traveling to each other can only amount to gibberish. There is also another one of George's sons who cannot arrange a marriage for the fear that he too will leave his Pakistani wife just like his father. During the first twenty minutes of the film I got a little scared that I'd be sitting through a 100 minutes of overhanded moments of characters crying and yelling about how they struggle with culture clashes. However West is West is filled with funny moments of cultural miscommunication and touching moments of reconnection. There are plenty of laughs and most audiences will find themselves smiling at the end of the film. The acting is good and at some moments moving. The cinematography, editing and music are all fairly well done. You won't be knocked out of seat with laughter, but you definitely won't feel as though you've suffered. Although a little formulaic West is West is a great film that is able to maintain a nice balance of lightness with the serious and depressing issue of family separation. Who this film is not for: -Very serious movie goers who like sharp and determined stances on culture clashes. -People not interested in ethnic stories of immigration.

They say good things take time and this belated follow up to the 1999 hit East is East has been over a decade in the coming. Happy to say the wait has been worthwhile and writer Ayub Khan-Din has written a sequel that is every bit as much involving, fun and moving as the original. It's 1976 and Salford chip shop owner's George Khan(Om Puri)'s youngest son Sajid (Aqib Khan)- one of the offspring of his second marriage to feisty white northerner Ella (Linda Basset) is having a tough time at school and becoming a bit of a rebel. Determined to sort the lad out out George whips him off to the home town he himself hasn't been back to in 30 years in rural Pakistan. There he meets a slew of relatives including the Mrs Khan number 1 (Ila Aran) as well as Sajid's brother Maneer (Emil Marwa) who has been unsuccessfully searching for a wife. A series of tragi-comic events follow as Sajid's learns some important life lessons. George meanwhile faces something of an identity crises as he is forced to confront both his past and present. Following up Damian O'Donnel's 1999 original was never going to be an easy task but director produces a follow up that is worthy successor to the original. Performances are excellent across the board with the likes of Nadeem Sawalha, Lesley Nichol, Robert Pugh, Zita Sattar and Raj Bhansali, playing excellent supporting roles. There's a brief but amusing cameo by Jimmi Mistry who reprises his role as Sajid's elder brother Tariq but we don't get to find out what became of his other brothers Saleem, Abdul, Nazir and sister Meenah. Though with Khan-Din talking about a third film in the series hopefully we will get to find out in the next installment. All in all this is an excellent film which takes a light hearted but thought provoking look at themes of family,culture and identity.