East is East

East meets West as immigrant George Khan's (Om Puri) Pakistani traditions are challenged by the mixed heritage children from his marriage to a British woman in this semi-autobiographical serio-comic tale of familial strife in '70s London. Ruling a sprawling brood from a departed dishonored son (who chose to just say no to an arranged marriage) to a bundled up urchin (looking like South Park's Kenny) who somehow managed to escape circumcision, George is a living embodiment of Yeats' "The Second Coming": spinning from one family crisis to the next, the center indeed cannot hold, and he finds himself in a steadily escalating series of confrontations with all his children. While George's repeated use of the word "bastard" in addressing his own flesh and blood is almost endearingly comic, the sudden shift to outright physical abuse late in the film is a tonal change that almost sinks this otherwise highly entertaining effort. Of course, real life sports both laughter and tears, and if viewers can weather the uncomfortable serious scenes, they're in for a real offbeat treat. Recommended. (R. Pitman)