Ae Fond Kiss...

In Ken Loach's surprisingly sexy modern variation on Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers are a Scots-Pakistani DJ and an Irish music teacher living in contemporary Glasgow. Casim Khan (Atta Yaqub), an ambitious young man who hopes to open his own nightclub, meets Irish Catholic teacher Roisin Hanlon (Eva Birthistle) at the school attended by his sister. Casim's parents are planning a traditional arranged marriage for him, to a cousin from Pakistan. Nevertheless, Casim and Roisin embark on a relationship and are soon jetting off on holiday to Spain. Complications and disapproval await them on their return. Some of Loach's previous films have seemed too obviously driven by politics and issues, rather than characters and plot. But Ae Fond Kiss... emerges as a touching modern love story that reaches beyond his usual audience. The film benefits from some fine performances, including Gerard Kelly's scene-stealing cameo as a crotchety priest, and the believable, rather erotic relationship between the two central characters.