I have jut joined this list.

Dennis Newson

I wanted to test this list for one of the Osnabrueck members who is
having problems with it.

What better way than to say:

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Dennis

Hi guys,

I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year!

And also, I wanted to let you know, that, if you’re interested in reading English books, Elizabeth George has written a book about the same topics, some of the films deal with. It’s called “Perception of his mind” and sometimes a little difficult to understand but interesting as well. J

Well, I hope all the best for you – though I don’t know you!

Best regards,

Carolin

Hello everybody out there,
I`m Stefanie fromGermanyand I`m taking part in a film project. Anyone seen
"My beautiful laundrette" so far? Quite a good movie, besides that terrible
eighties style (the hair of Johnny is a mess). But hey, let`s face the facts,
the actrs are very good, especially Omar`s father. I liked his speech about
knowledge. Any comments?

--
GMX ProMail (250 MB Mailbox, 50 FreeSMS, Virenschutz, 2,99 EUR/Monat...)
jetzt 3 Monate GRATIS + 3x DER SPIEGEL +++ http://www.gmx.net/derspiegel +++

Hi! I'm Alina from Russia. We (our university group)watched "My
Beautiful Laundrette" several days ago and at first considered it, on
the one hand, shocking, on the other hand, boring. But that was
several days ago. You can really appreciate this film when some
time's passed. The first impression prevents you from realising the
plot fully. So, now we agree in opinion that there're some serious
problems to think over and discuss. However, most of my group-mates
refuse to rewatch the film. As for me, I don't mind working on it in
the project, but I won't watch it when we turn to the next film.
Alina, Russia (Tambov).

Hello,
my name is Hanka and I am one member of the Czech "film funs" that saw "My
Beautiful Laundrette" this week.

My beautiful Lanudrette was a film about specific emmigrants in one specific
country. It was about cruelty between people with different roots , about
differentiation of the society according the origin of its members.The
Pakistanian
emmigrants mentioned few times the terrible way they are treated by English
people, the conditions they have for their life in England - fascist gangs.
They mentioned that they are nothing without money. They have to struggle
their identity in the country that they do not still feel like their home.
On the other hand the Pakistanian emmigrants do not treat each other very
well in the Pakistanian community. For some Pakistanians is England the
source
of money, if they work hard and they take it seriously(f Nasser or for
Saleem).
Restless Omar would like to success too, he is very ambicious. It is not
easy for him that Johnny is the member of fascist gang.
I found interesting the character of Johnny, who maybe change a little his
hate to all immigrants after living in their environment - which is showen
at the very end of this movie. This person may be like hope for the future.

There was a tension and on the other hand this film has also few comic scenes.
for me, the film was about some struggle of people in difficult conditioons,
about the power of outer stimulis and stresses, about one guys romance,
about looking for better life, looking for oneself identity.

That is all from me for this moment
Have a nice time with another films:)
Hanka



----------------------------------------------------------

V¹e o nominovaných filmech na ceny 76. roèníku americké filmové Akademie
Oscar.
Speciál OSKARY na http://kino.tiscali.cz

Hello everybody,

How are you?
My name is Ivana Vaculikova. I am 23-year-old and I come from the Czech
Republic. I have been studying teaching English and Civics (Social Science)
for 4 years in the university town called Olomouc. This is my final year
of full-time studies and then I´m going to find out in practice how good
or bad teacher I am. Last year I spent studying sociology and political
science in Sweden and it was a great opportunity for me to meet people of
different nationalities, languages, colours and identities. For the similar
reason I have also chosen this seminar about multicultural British Film.
As for my hobbies, I like reading interesting books, listening to music,
learning something new, skiing, cycling, jogging, taking photos, keeping
flowers, visiting and writing e-mails to my friends, cooking, travelling
and meeting people of various background. I enjoy watching films as well
but I don´t think I´m good at interpreting them. Please feel free to comment
on the following passage with my views...

My Beautiful Laundrette is a film with a suppressed plot. I think this is
both a weakness and strength of the film. Without a proper plot the film
was less comprehensible and more hard to follow. There was a little tension,
lot of background information missing (at least I didn´t understand a lot
of characters´ behaviour presented, e.g. why the NF members destroyed the
cars, etc.) and many characters were in the focus of the film. If you add
difficult accents and the scene of the 80s, you might consider the film
strange and outdated at the first sight. However, that´s not all about the
film. It´s certainly conveying something that goes beyond the plot. In my
opinion, the film is one big mosaic, full of different perspectives and
contrasting ideas (generation gap and family values, female and male roles,
sexual orientations, language issues, integration and discrimination, class
issues, capitalism and social feelings, extreme right movement and immigrants).
I found it remarkable that the Pakistani community was not portrayed on
its own but in a context of the British society. It was quite surprising
for me how many times the Pakistani people in the film were talking about
"the country", "money" and more indirectly about the identity and opportunity,
usually in a negative or a pessimistic way. These three themes went through
the whole film and I think they illustrated what the 80s were mainly about
for the former immigrants and their children. I assume that the themes are
stll relevant nowadays although the conditions in Britain have changed a
lot. In my point of view, the most interesting character was Johny. He could
choose to remain the NF member but he changed his mind because of his Pakistani
(boy)friend Omar and the work Omar gave him. Moreover, in the end of the
film he helped Saleem (the guy with curly hair) not to be killed in the
street fight with the NF people even though he didn´t like him at all. To
provide with help was a dilemma for Johny. However, he eventually helped
and didn´t care any longer for the common barriers, categories and bias.
I appreciated also that there were not black-and-white characters from the
Pakistani community as well as from the "white British". According to me,

2/3 of the film maintained a line of entrepreneurialism, social darwinism
and ever-returning concept of money. Nevertheless, the end of the film doubts
the philosophy of money, shows the unnecessity of violence and brings in
the questions of humanity, tolerance and love. It´s up to the audience to
decide what might be the proper answers for these questions. Not to be too
much serious about the film, let me add that I had to laugh sometimes to
discussions in the film, e.g. "Speak English so the boy can understand."
"Doesn´t he understand his own language."

What are your feelings and opinions about the film?
Did you find any sentences or characters worth mentioning?
I´m looking forward to your letters.
Best wishes from Ivana.

----------------------------------------------------------

V¹e o nominovaných filmech na ceny 76. roèníku americké filmové Akademie
Oscar.
Speciál OSKARY na http://kino.tiscali.cz

Hi there,
first things first, I guess. My name`s Michal. I am male. I am Czech.
I am. I think, I am…
So, that`s for self-introduction. If you request any other (perhaps
more specific or spicy) info about my being, please let me know.
Now, let's stop beating about the George W. and get to the core - MY
BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (MBL). This film really leaves you wonder.
Giving my impression, I'd like to focus mainly on the plot, main
characters/cast and finally any possible message - a moral - of the
work.
PLOT
Well, is there any? A friend of mine asked me what was MBL about and
I started: "It's about a Pakistani community in London of the 80's.
It's about drugs. No, capitalism. No, thatcherism. No, wait, it's
about differences between the rich and the poor (class struggle, as
old Mr. Marx used to say:-). Or it might be a post-modern fairy-tale
of a prince and his… well tale of two princes. No, I was wrong! MBL
is definitely about dirty underpants!" Or, of course, it could
possibly be about something completely different.
MAIN CHARACTERS/CAST
Omar
What to say about Omar? The Monty-Python chorus "Always look at the
bright side of life" springs instantly to mind. He was truly gay (in
the ancient meaning of the word) all the time. His boyish, always-
smiling face was irresistible even for me (and I am said to be
straight!). He did not look as someone in trouble. Gordon Warnecke
impersonated a dull and naive boy in a dull and naive way.
Johnny
Daniel Day Lewis and his gay fascist Johnny didn't make me feel
anything. In my opinion, this character had the greatest potential
from all the others but either D.D.Lewis or the director (Stephen
Frears) failed to fill it up.
Nasser
Rich uncle Nasser, oh boy! Rich uncle Nasser with his helluva car and
English mistress. Professional businessman, amateur Pakistani. Not
questioning a race. A capitalist "all-inclusive". My second favorite
character – I liked the way Saeed Jaffrey showed us what does it mean
to be well-off.
Papa
I liked the character of Omar's father most of all. He didn't talk
much but if he did it was worth it. "Working class is such a great
disappointment to me" is one of his memorable quotes. This "famous
journalist and drinker from Bombay" and his what-da-hell approach
towards life makes you think about the 80's more than anything else.
And, in fact, not only about the eighties…Moreover, Roshan Seth did
him at ease and in the most "cool" way.
Saleem
Gilt youth. What else do you need to know?
Rachel
Nasser's mistress Rachel (Shirley Anne Field). Roger Ebert in his
review (Chicago Sun Times -
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1986/04/52849.html )
labels her as "another outsider in the movie". That fits. Every bit…
Tania
Nasser's daughter who is bored. As a result of this boredom she bares
her breasts. According to this logic, the cinema at the end of MBL
would have to be full of bare breasted people.
A MORAL(?)
Does every film need to have a moral? Of course not. Does every film
have a moral? Sure it does. Some films tell us "THINK", some
tell "DON'T THINK AND BUY COCA-COLA" and some "DON'T BE FASCIST BE
GAY (=BE WHAT YOU ARE)". The thing is – HOW they tell.
To sum all up, as have many of you probably already sensed, I did not
like MBL much. One of the reasons (apart from those listed above)
might be a fact, that I hate eighties and everything connected to
them. Well, almost everything, I was born in 1980:-)
BTW, I apologize for any possible offensive dimensions of this text –
my writing style tends to be rather specific.
Stay well, Michal.

____________________________________________________________
Akèní nabídka ÈSOB!
Zalo¾te si ÈSOB Osobní konto Plus do 12. 3. 2004 a získejte tøi mìsíce vedení
úètu zdarma!
Více informací na www.csob.cz.
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=70764%26url=http://www.csob.cz/HP/clanek\
.asp?prmKod=HP166&a=0

____________________________________________________________
Contactel. Pøíjemnì rychlá komunikace. Internet, hlas, data.
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=70016%26url=http://www.contactel.cz

Hi,
my name is Marketa and I am a student from Czech Republic. my subject is English
and special educational needs.

Here are my ideas about " My beautiful laundrett"

The main topics the film contained were racism and immigration, and family life.

It seemed to me from the film that the Asian community was quite closed. In
fact it was not easy to integrate to the major society. That may why the family
life is emphasised, the families are numerous and spend a lot of time together.

The main character was a young and talented man. He was given a chance and he
managed to succeed. He had a homosexual relationship. Those two men also
co-operated in the business. I think that there is suggested
that if people want to succeed and integrate themselves, they can.
In the movie there are displays of racism. I think, that the displays of racism
are a wide spread problem and certainly not only in Great Britain. A lot of
countries have still problems with immigrants groups.
Also the problem of homosexuality was a hot issue then. I think that people are
today more open and tolerant about this.


____________________________________________________________
Akèní nabídka ÈSOB!
Zalo¾te si ÈSOB Osobní konto Plus do 12. 3. 2004 a získejte tøi mìsíce vedení
úètu zdarma!
Více informací na www.csob.cz.
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=70764%26url=http://www.csob.cz/HP/clanek\
.asp?prmKod=HP166&a=0

My name is Silvie and I study at University in Olomouc (Czech Republic). This is a new thing for me to share opinions on movies with other people all around the world. I like it though . As for MBL, the movie was so different. Cultural differences really make a big deal of everything in different societies. I realized that ideal co-existing of various nations and cultures is very tough. It is about toleance and acceptance of other people. And the thing with homosexuality is a very hot issue these days too. For nations for whom religons is a lifestyle, is very difficult to deal with things like this. In MBL I could see strong family bonds that can influence one's freedom. All in all it was very interesting movie and I hope there is more come.

Talk to you later.

Silvie

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search - Find what you’re looking for faster.

--- In film-viewing@yahoogroups.com, "mikemarek50" <mikemarek50@h...>
wrote:
> Hi there,
> first things first, I guess. My name`s Michal. I am male. I am
Czech.
> I am. I think, I am…
> So, that`s for self-introduction. If you request any other (perhaps
> more specific or spicy) info about my being, please let me know.
> Now, let's stop beating about the George W. and get to the core -
MY
> BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (MBL). This film really leaves you wonder.
> Giving my impression, I'd like to focus mainly on the plot, main
> characters/cast and finally any possible message - a moral - of the
> work.
> PLOT
> Well, is there any? A friend of mine asked me what was MBL about
and
> I started: "It's about a Pakistani community in London of the 80's.
> It's about drugs. No, capitalism. No, thatcherism. No, wait, it's
> about differences between the rich and the poor (class struggle, as
> old Mr. Marx used to say:-). Or it might be a post-modern fairy-
tale
> of a prince and his… well tale of two princes. No, I was wrong! MBL
> is definitely about dirty underpants!" Or, of course, it could
> possibly be about something completely different.
> MAIN CHARACTERS/CAST
> Omar
> What to say about Omar? The Monty-Python chorus "Always look at the
> bright side of life" springs instantly to mind. He was truly gay
(in
> the ancient meaning of the word) all the time. His boyish, always-
> smiling face was irresistible even for me (and I am said to be
> straight!). He did not look as someone in trouble. Gordon Warnecke
> impersonated a dull and naive boy in a dull and naive way.
> Johnny
> Daniel Day Lewis and his gay fascist Johnny didn't make me feel
> anything. In my opinion, this character had the greatest potential
> from all the others but either D.D.Lewis or the director (Stephen
> Frears) failed to fill it up.
> Nasser
> Rich uncle Nasser, oh boy! Rich uncle Nasser with his helluva car
and
> English mistress. Professional businessman, amateur Pakistani. Not
> questioning a race. A capitalist "all-inclusive". My second
favorite
> character – I liked the way Saeed Jaffrey showed us what does it
mean
> to be well-off.
> Papa
> I liked the character of Omar's father most of all. He didn't talk
> much but if he did it was worth it. "Working class is such a great
> disappointment to me" is one of his memorable quotes. This "famous
> journalist and drinker from Bombay" and his what-da-hell approach
> towards life makes you think about the 80's more than anything
else.
> And, in fact, not only about the eighties…Moreover, Roshan Seth did
> him at ease and in the most "cool" way.
> Saleem
> Gilt youth. What else do you need to know?
> Rachel
> Nasser's mistress Rachel (Shirley Anne Field). Roger Ebert in his
> review (Chicago Sun Times -
> http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1986/04/52849.html )
> labels her as "another outsider in the movie". That fits. Every bit…
> Tania
> Nasser's daughter who is bored. As a result of this boredom she
bares
> her breasts. According to this logic, the cinema at the end of MBL
> would have to be full of bare breasted people.
> A MORAL(?)
> Does every film need to have a moral? Of course not. Does every
film
> have a moral? Sure it does. Some films tell us "THINK", some
> tell "DON'T THINK AND BUY COCA-COLA" and some "DON'T BE FASCIST BE
> GAY (=BE WHAT YOU ARE)". The thing is – HOW they tell.
> To sum all up, as have many of you probably already sensed, I did
not
> like MBL much. One of the reasons (apart from those listed above)
> might be a fact, that I hate eighties and everything connected to
> them. Well, almost everything, I was born in 1980:-)
> BTW, I apologize for any possible offensive dimensions of this
text –
> my writing style tends to be rather specific.
> Stay well, Michal.



Hi, I hope this time it won´t fail and I will manage to sign in .
If not I will go crazy, probably. My name iz Zdenka, I am Czech an I
would like to react on the film My Beautiful Laundrette. It was not
the best film I have ever seen, byut I cannot say it was bad. I quite
liked it. In my opinion, Omar´s father was the best character, so I
agree with Michal. there was also one scene nearly at the end of the
film tah I liked - it was when Johny helped Omar´s cousin Saleem and
fought with him against the group of vandals trying to damage
Saleem´s car. Johny helped saleem despite he hated him very much
because of saleem arogance a he did what ho thought was Right. And
what do you think about this scene?
Looking forward to your answers.
Zdenka

Hi everybody,
this filom was not only about ane young girl who has fallen in love
with her idol - D. Beckham, but also about the relationships within
and between different communities, between people who come from
different cultures and have different traditions, but in fact they
are the same intheir nature. For example if you take the mothers of
the two girls. They both knew nothing about football etc. .. and also
the fathers carriedwere very similar to each other. jess showed a
great nbraveness when she decided not to obey her parents and went to
germany, she just did not have any prejudice or something like that,
I think this film was about anderstanding others, fighting for what
you consider as correct, although the story might seem really
predictable - a love of a young girl, except this there were many
ideas trying to break any boarders between different cultures.
And waht do you think about the film? Did you like it?
Zdenka

Hi everybody,
I quite liked this film. It was again (as MBL) about coliving of different
nationalities, cultures. This time I think there was not shown such a strong
pressure and hateness of one community against the other. This film was
a good piece of fun, sweet love story. If we compere the two families -
american and indian one - both mothers did not want their girls to play
the football very much, they did not know nothing about football. The indian
family keeps many traditions - but one of the main characters tries to break
them - in fact she simply does not want follow them only because she should,
because it is a part of their history, family roots. She wants to follow
her feelings. To do what she likes to do, no matter how this goes with indian
traditions.She is brave, strong. The two families have something in common,
something different.
This film was about young braveness, the need to follow your instincts,
the need to come your wishes truth.It was again about understanding people
with different roots.

Thank you for your reactions
Have a nice day
Hanka

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Erotické horoskopy na TISCALI!
Zadejte svoje a jeho (její) zvìrokruhové znamení a zjistìte, zda k sobì
ladíte!
http://www.tiscali.cz/horo/erotika2.phtml

Nice to see you again:-)

David Beckham is considered to be the man with the best right foot in
the world. He had his right foot insured. He is a celebrity. In Asia,
Beck is the most famous European. EVERYBODY LOVES HIM. THAT is why
the film-makers decided to chose such a strange title for the film
I'm writing about – BENT IT LIKE BECKHAM (BILB).
I've seen BILB four days ago. I've seen Milos Forman's Man on the
Moon (MotM) just four minutes ago. You can hardly compare these two
films (and I am not gonna do it), but anyway - both are said to be
comedies… The main difference between these two films (for me) is as
follows: Four days after BILB no feeling has remained in my… (how
should I call it)… brain. I don't want to see BILB again. Whereas
Forman's MotM cuts deep. IT MAKES YOU THINK. Maybe some time later
on, but good film makes you think.
BILB is a comedy. Romantic comedy. Comedy makes you laugh (usually).
BILB makes you laugh when you see Indian grannies having a party and
using their mobile phones. BILB makes you laugh when you see a middle-
aged English woman getting panicky about her daughter (supposedly)
going queer. Hey, wait a minute, aren't these gags typical for the
sitcoms??? What does it mean? What does the director mean by that?
What does a producer mean by that? And what-da-hell do I mean by
that?
All right, BILB IS an optimistic film. I (please notice that I am NOT
a critic) consider it to be full of cliché.
You may remember that passage when Jess gets a red card, is sent off
the pitch and the coach tells her off. The whole scene ends up in
heart breaking dialogue (… but you can't understand how does it feel
being called Paki. Of course I do – I am Irish…). Oh my, that is
soooooo sweeeet…. :'-(
And the end? Happy end? Well, Jes is leaaaving on a jet plane, she
will never get back again. She's leaving for AMERICA – the place
where dollars grow on the trees in the parks – the place where
everybody gets a chance to be famous for 15minutes (under the
supervision of big brother, of course) – the brave new world! What's
even worse – her own father flies her there.

Considering the characters and actors – I liked Czech national
football team forward Jan Koller most. He flashed on the screen for
0.38sec. in the beginning of the film (when we see the edited match
ManUT – Anderlecht).

Jess – ordinary teenage girl, she doesn't bother with her Indian
roots. She's found a new god – David Beckham. She is talking to his
photo in the same way as her mother prays in front of the icon.

Jess' father – In the past, they laughed at him because of his
turban. But he never took it off and always listened to his wise
wife. He is a pilot of a big plane and generally successful. Possibly
going through some inner struggle (Has anybody spotted anything like
that in the film???????)

Jess' mother – Tradition… The old ways… She's overdoing it – even her
husband doubts it has any meaning.

Jess' family – Portrayed in a "comic" way. The wedding is a great
party, it lasts two days (as far as I can remember) and everybody is
happy (except Jess). They respect the tradition with the mobile
phones in their hands which is supposed to be funny.

Jules - A football player, Jess's blond friend. She likes Jess until
she catches her (nearly) kissing the couch. But at the end she gets
even with it and she is happy. Jess is happy, her father is happy,
her mother seems to be happy, Beckham is happy, Posh Spice is happy,
producer is happy, billions of satisfied customers all over the whole
solar system cannot be wrong. I'm sorry – viewers.

Jules' mother - Middle aged woman of middle class with deep cleavage
and conservative ideas about normality.
My favourite character. The actress did a good job and – to be
honest – created the only comical character of the "comedy".

The coach – Talking about him, I wonder who was supposed to be
the "bad guy" in the film. I didn't actually see one. Anyway, the
coach is Irish. He knows how does it feel to be called Paki. I don't,
I'm not Irish.

Of course, there were more characters worth mentioning (the gay guy,
Jess's sister – following the Indian sacred tradition on da back
seat, huh;-), etc.).

To sum up, as have many of you probably already sensed, I did not
like BILB much. One of the reasons (apart from those listed above)
might be a fact, that just before writing this heap of ideas I've
seen the great Forman's Man on the Moon.

Bye, Michal.

BTW. Beckham is good, Poborsky is better:-)

Hi! My name is Jitka, I come from the Czech Republic. I am studying

English and Czech at university in Olomouc.

My (anti)reaction to the film My Beautiful Laundrette:

The movie is said not to be concerned with a plot. It is true,

definitely. We can only follow a set of more or less interesting

moments from lives of main characters. It could help us to imagine a

situation in Britain under the rule of Madam Thatcher and position of

immigrants in those days but... Lives of immigrants, in this case of

Pakistani, arent neither much worse nor much better than lives of

native British people in this film (as I think). They have common

problems with their relationships, money and other family members.

When we are about to sleep:-) (during watching), Omar and friends are

stoped by a gang of neofascist. Finally, something exciting!, we would

like to shout. But what a big mistake! There isnt any conflict or any

mark of racism. Omar and Johnny, a leader of the gang, greet one

another. As we learn, they used to be lovers. This world is so small

(and we all will meet in a bed - as Marilyn Monroe has said).

To sum up, it wasnt a bad or absolutely useless film (in my point of

view). But I expected it would be much more provokating and

discovering.

Bye,

Jitka.

Hi!
The second film that our group saw is called Bend it Like Beckham. Although it
seems to be a typical happy end film, there are a few interesting moments
showing us a life of Indian community. I like it more than My Beautiful
Laundrette.
The relationships between members of Jess and Jules family are very similar.
Jess' mother as well as Jules' mother are against playing football. Acording to
them, it is a task for men. Both girls can find a helpful hand and understanding
at their fathers. Finally, Jess' father permits her to play because he still
remembers he had to give up his dreams. Thats why he wants his daughter to have
a better life. I find this moment wonderful therefore I see an revolting
expression in this gesture. The father manages to find himself after many years.
It is the first time he hasnt done what his wife said.
Another marvellous moment... Jess' parents are terrifying they saw her with a
white guy. "He is an Englishman," they cry. "No, he is an Irish," Jess' replies.
A view into British community. By the way, I was really impressed by this
sentence.
And this the end (of my emali).
Bye,
Jitka

Hello everybody,

I hope you´re all fine and well.
Let me make some comments on the film Bend It Like Beckham. First of all
I´d like to say I came across three very different reviews on the internet
and I was really wondering what the film was going to be like. It surprised
me with its lightheartedness and liveliness. Compared to My Beautiful Laundrette
it is full of bright colours, sunshine and optimism.

The main theme of the film is about a conflict between the traditional values
and the modern world. Jess´s family is a prominent example. Inside their
home everything is according to the Indian Sikh standard (especially the
holy picture). Outside their house everything looks as in the typical English
suburb. The Sikh community created a world of traditions for themselves,
closed behind the walls. It´s a kind of paradox that a plane flies over
the house every morning. The older Sikh generation is deeply devoted to
the orthodox tradition. Nevertheless, this is not true for the younger
generation.
The modern lifestyle has penetrated into their hearts even though they respect
their tradition very much, e.g. Jess playing football, Pinky sleeping with
her fiancé before a wedding, Tony lying to his mother. The film puts into
question the content of the feminine role in the society. There are two
kinds of roles in the film represented by Pinky on one side and Jess and
Jules on the other side. The process of creating false information and bias
among people is often mocked in the film, e.g. the lesbian issue, jealousy,
Irish coach, short-haired Jules misinterpreted as a boy,... I appreciated
the situation in the dressing room when the following dialogue took place
between Jess and her teammates: "Indian girls aren´t supposed to play football."
"That´s a bit backward!" "It´s just culture."

Bend It Like Beckham touches the problematic topic of assimilation but it
doesn´t go into much depth. I guess that dealing thoroughly with this issue
would kill the atmosphere. The film is full of cultural differences. The
scene that I found remarkable is from the wedding preparation when the camera
compares what is happening in the Indian garden to the English surroundings.
Apart from the main theme a love triangle among Joe, Jess and Jules develops.
In the end, Jess and Joe plan their future together and Jules remains their
friend. Jess even pays Joe more attention than to her idol David Beckham...

From all the characters I found Jess the best not only because she´s the
leading figure. She´s representing a rebellious teenager with dreams and
ambitions. I liked especially the way she´s trying to ballance her cultural
heritage with her gift and opportunities in life. I appreciated that after

so much lying she had enough courage not to let Tony to safe her by another

lie and she was openly arguing for her dream on her own. It´s worth mentioning
that the film didn´t present any people with bad intentions. On the other
hand, there were many foolish characters in the film. I didn´t like at all
Jules´ mother as she was so barbie-like and artificial. At the same time,
I found Jess´s mother as the most funny character because of her body language
and exclamations such as: "Gee, gee, cigarettes!", "At least I have taught
her a full Panjabi dinner, meat and vegatarian!", etc.

Even though that this hasn´t been one of the best films I have ever seen,
I liked it very much because it made me feel relaxed and relieved.
What about you? How did you feel about it?
Have a nice day.
Best wishes from Ivana.







-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Erotické horoskopy na TISCALI!
Zadejte svoje a jeho (její) zvìrokruhové znamení a zjistìte, zda k sobì
ladíte!
http://www.tiscali.cz/horo/erotika2.phtml

Hi, my name is Jana and I'm from the Czech Republic. If you would like to know
something more about me, I'm studying and I'm 23.
We were asked to give our opinions of the film My beautiful laundrette. To be
honest, I really do not know, who I'm writing to, so I'm not sure, what exactly
to write.
As far as the film is concerned, I have seen it just once and my first
impression is, that the film is quite difficult to understand. Here I mean the
language used. In some parts, it was not easy to follow the speech.
What I really appreciate is the plot and setting. I love films that show
relationships in depth and are not afraid to reveal even those things, that
others are frightened of. I know, that the problem of homosexuality is not the
essential thing, but I'm very much grateful to film-makers that they did not
hide anything.
And the topic of different cultures meeting in everyday life is also up-to date
issue.
I have already seen Bend it like Beckham and to be honest I liked the first film
more. It may be because of the too much happy happy-end

Our teacher got ill and we have not discussed any film in our lessons yet so I
really do not know what to write about or what interesting questions to ask.
Should you read this E-mail, do not hesitate and write back to me.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Jana


____________________________________________________________
Contactel. Pøíjemnì rychlá komunikace. Internet, hlas, data.
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=70016%26url=http://www.contactel.cz

Hi, my name is Jana and I'm from the Czech Republic. If you would like to know
something more about me, I'm studying and I'm 23.
We were asked to give our opinions of the film My beautiful laundrette. To be
honest, I really do not know, who I'm writing to, so I'm not sure, what exactly
to write.
As far as the film is concerned, I have seen it just once and my first
impression is, that the film is quite difficult to understand. Here I mean the
language used. In some parts, it was not easy to follow the speech.
What I really appreciate is the plot and setting. I love films that show
relationships in depth and are not afraid to reveal even those things, that
others are frightened of. I know, that the problem of homosexuality is not the
essential thing, but I'm very much grateful to film-makers that they did not
hide anything.
And the topic of different cultures meeting in everyday life is also up-to date
issue.
I have already seen Bend it like Beckham and to be honest I liked the first film
more. It may be because of the too much happy happy-end

Our teacher got ill and we have not discussed any film in our lessons yet so I
really do not know what to write about or what interesting questions to ask.
Should you read this E-mail, do not hesitate and write back to me.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Jana


____________________________________________________________
ADSL za korunu od Contactelu - nejpøíjemnìj¹í ADSL na trhu doruèíme rychle a¾ k
Vám!
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=70017%26url=http://www.contactel.cz/adsl

Hi everybody,
my name is Andrea and I study at univerzity in Olomouc in Czech
Republic. I would like to share my feelings about the film "Bend
It Like Beckham". At the beginning of the viewing my first
impresion was:"Oh, no!Another stupid film for teens about two
girls who fell in love with the same boy. However, I changed my
mind and I have to say that I really enjoyed watching this film.
It was funny in some way and especially I liked wedding
preparation scenes. That's all from me. My dear colleagues had
already mentioned everything interesting so that I haven't got
any more idea to share.

Bye Andrea

--
ANONYMNI PRIPOJENI K INTERNETU - bez registrace, zdarma, ihned!
Pripojeni na cisle 971 200 111 z cele CR,
v Praze navic na cisle 971 200 555.
Uzivatelske jmeno "post.cz", heslo "post.cz".
http://www.post.cz

Hello everybody,
my name is Stefanie, I`m 20 and I`m a fulltime student at the University of
Osnabrück/Germany. Some time ago we watched My Beautiful Laundrette. I
thought it a very good movie. Well, I wouldn`t recommend it to all of my friends
because some I think would not understand the full meaning of some of the
scenes, but, though the setting does not exactly give you a comfortable feeling
(who can live in these shabby houses?), I really liked the dialogues between
the characters and the speech of Omar`s father. It was his character I still
liked at the end of the movie because I hadn`t expected him to be able to
create a speech like that. (By the way, I hope you all know what speech I`m
actually talking about? The one in the laundrette, but I think you know.) Well,
however, the theme of homosexuality didn`t really strike me. Maybe it was
shocking when the movie was produced, but today it is so ordinary. One thing
that
really shocked me was Omar`s inability to realize that there could be other
ways to make money. Honest money, if you get my meaning. Isn`t it sad that for
him the only opportunity to make a living seemed to be to become like his
uncles?
Well, so far. I`m really looking forward to watch Bend It Like Beckham (no,
not because I`m a Beckham-fan). I hope this message will reach some of you
and maybe I should say I`m really surprised that there are so many different
statement from all over the world. I feel so international *_*,
Stefanie

--
+++ NEU bei GMX und erstmalig in Deutschland: TÜV-geprüfter Virenschutz +++
100% Virenerkennung nach Wildlist. Infos: http://www.gmx.net/virenschutz

Good evening everybody,
I would like to share my feelings about the film "East is east" and " The full
monty".
East is east is, according to me, the best film from those that we have seen so
far. I liked the plot and as we discussed it in our class, the plot that is
hidden in the film. From the beginning the film appears as a nice comedy full of
gags, but further on, we can reveal also the "tragedy" of the family. I mean the
cultural problems within one family.
As far as the second film, The full monty, is concerned, I have seen it twice so
far and as I remeber, I did not like it at all when I watched it for the first
time. However, this time, I knew also the cultura background of the film and
that was why I enjoyed it much more! Although the language was quite difficult
for me. You know, I can understand the feelings of people who cannot find any
job. My mother has been retired for a year and she is desperately depressed by
the fact, that she has to be at home. From time to time, she has some part-time
job, but you know how difficult it is to find a job these days.
Well, that is all from me. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Jana
____________________________________________________________
www.BaterieDoMobilu.cz - nej¹ir¹í sortiment kvalitních baterií se zárukou za
super ceny od 199 Kc, po¹tovné od 2 kusu ZDARMA.
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=72312%26url=http://www.bateriedomobilu.c\
z

Hi,
I would like to react on the two films, we have seen recently.
First, East is East i consider to be the best film of the four we
have seen so far. Really I liked the setting and the way it dealt
with the cultural problems whithin one family. In the beginning it
seemed to be a comedy, but then the theme got more serious and made
you think about it really and it appeared to be maybe more tragedy.
But in my opinion the film was excelently made and I would like to
watch it again.The scene when tha father hit his wife, whom he loved
( or at least I have the feeling that he really loved her) and the
fight of his cultural traditions and the fact that he himself
probably wanted to escape from his cultural tradition ( the evidence
of this is that he married an English wife)really got me From that
moment his wife porbably realized most the differences between her
and her husband´s culture and traditions. But she said she still
loved him. Do you think the father loved her and that he somehow
regreted that he hit her? How did you like the film?
On the other hand, The full Monty did not impressed me much. Except
the topic of somebody trying to find a job and rying his/ her best to
do something ( in this case it was something not sou usual) to make
some money a and again a short shot where homosexuality
was "introduced". Maybe there was a nice thing that the friends
helped each other, but still I did not like the film much. o me it
seemed as a normal attempt to make a comedy on this topic - looking
for a job. Nothing really special which would really stick in my
mind.

So, that is all from me, I am looking forward to your ideas. Have a
nice day. :-)
Zdenka

Hi everybody,

I would like to share my opinion about this film. We saw again a film about a
non-English nation in England. This film was very different to the previous one
( My beatiful laundrette) . I have to say that this movie was very enjoyable and
funny. A good way how to learn about life of non- english community in England,
about their traditions. There were two different girls, and in spite of this
they had so much in commom - interested in footbal, mothers that do not like
fotbal, their teenage problems and so on. An amusing, nice film with a good end.


Bye, Marketa
____________________________________________________________
www.BaterieDoMobilu.cz - nej¹ir¹í sortiment kvalitních baterií se zárukou za
super ceny od 199 Kc, po¹tovné od 2 kusu ZDARMA.
http://ad2.seznam.cz/redir.cgi?instance=72770%26url=http://www.bateriedomobilu.c\
z

Hi, everybody. Good morning if you are getting up now and Good afternoon if you
have larady had lunch. This is the favourite phrase of our ex-president of TV
Nova.
So, there is my reaction (double one) to films East is East and The Full Monty.
I offer it to you in one e-mail as in a tendention of so popular 2 in 1 (maybe
more) products. Can I compare these rwo films? No, I cant. Its impossible. East
is East was the only one that I really liked. Fresh, brilliant, original comedy
with an inside (whether deep or not) into Pakistani community. Maybe it wasnt a
lot about Pakistani. Kids seemed to be trying to live on their own, t break the
rules and especially culture roots which was completely stange to them. However,
we can find an exception from the rules as it happens. One of sons (I dont know
his name but I am sure you have noticed him) is really keen on fahter's belief.
Finally, even he is disgusted by father's behaviour to their mum. We can ask
ourselves, what is and what was the function of region and belief. Did it good
things for development of human race or did it only mean killing, lying, ruling
over people? Does any religion have an imprtat place in nowadays society? Or si
this just matter of the past? Are we also addicted on something? Are we free?
What about power of masmedia culture? Yes, there is a lot of questions... But it
depends on each of us to make an opinion on them.
On the other, The Full Monty. My friends told me this is a good movie. Although
I had much work, I ran out from a library and hurrid to the faculty. But...
Disgusting, boring, silly, stupid, b.s. I can remember I was thinking about
going to see this film at the cinema a few years ago. Then I said to myself, it
seemed to be stupid. Thats why I didnt see in the end. And now? Simon tried to
persuaded me its a big hit. Hm... About what? Its not comedy, its not tragedy,
its not interesting, its not provoking, its not. I suppose the life time of each
of us is limited (seriously limited) and there s no time to do, read or watch
useless things. Therefore I am tryig to choose worthy films, books and so on. I
didnt manage in this case. It will be worse... At least it was a lesson in my
life (and your useless time if you are reading this).
JayDee

I am posting this on behalf of Edita Zlebkova, who has had trouble
accessing the group:

EAST IS EAST

One thing I believe had certain role in the film and therefore it is
worth mentioning.
It was the point where the little neighbour's boy has started to
great George in a traditional Eastern way „Salaam". At the first
place I did not pay much attention to it, but for the second time it
has appear after the very dramatic scene when George was leaving the
house after the fight…… I started to question about the meaning of
this act…..I have also found a sentence in my notes, where George
was explaining to his son, why does he want him to continue in the
Islamic traditions and culture….The arguments were:
Son – I am not Pakistani, I do not know them, and I was born in
Britain….
The response of his father was: …but you are not Brit either they DO
NOT ACCEPT YOU!
May be here is the correlation and the key point that could explain
the role of the boy… where he accepts his tradition by showing
respect via traditional greeting and it possibly may lead George to
realise his mistake….
Or it could possibly underline the paradox of the situation when
George is not understood by his own family, but gets feedback from
the member of the other culture who seems more interested in it……
These were things I though about but am not really convinced so I
though some of you may be have something to add??????


THE FULL MONTY

The actual meaning of the expression of the full monty is the full
amount people expect or want. I think this may have a symbolical
meaning in the film. Not only money, not only the full nudity, but
the full amount of rights (where he wants to see his son, but is not
allowed due to the decision of the court) the full amount of efforts
one is willing to squeeze out for something and possibly also the
full respect and acceptance no matter what state or social position
one is in.
Simon has mentioned that there is also some kind of shift in role of
male, when they go and strip which is usually females´ „job". I
agree and I think the film has shown shift of roles also the other
way round as well, for example in the shot where they were watching
the famous FLASH DANCE movie in order to learn how to dance, but it
has started with a scene where the lady was dwelling!, which is not
typically female occupation. Also the scene where one of the ladies
pees at the toilet like a men….later this is commented by these
words : IF THE WOMEN START TO PISS LIKE US WE ARE DEAD, EXTINCT!
There was one another strong feature in the film which was the
friendship that was visible through out the entire movie starting
with the rescue of one of the guys. This was maybe the only social
security that pulled them all together and functioned as a strong
motivation factor.

One thing I did not understand, why did he refuse the job his former
wife has offered to him in the fabric (or whatever) company for 2,50
per hour???? Yes, it is not a lot, but it certainly would guarantee
him a stable financial income, and he would rather prefer to go for
highly risky business, which they agreed to do just once????
Any conclusions or guesses…. I could not come up with anything…..
Am looking forward to hear some

Have you ever touched a crippled beauty?
Have you ever struggled to reach the bottom?
Have you ever laughed at your dignity?
Have you ever buried your face in your hands?
Have you ever licked the tears from the face of the moon?
Have you ever blamed yourself of being somebody else?
Have you ever worn a hood to protect yourself?
Have you ever witnessed violence done by love?
Have you ever urinated in the bucked of hopelessness?
Have you ever had your dream circumcised?
Have you ever seen a human boot stamping on the God's wish?
Have you ever seen anyone fishing his fate in the sewer?
Have you ever?
Have you?
Have?
Ha?

I you've seen East is East, you just had to…

Mike: "So, how did ya like the Full Monty (FM)?"

Marek: "Well, you know…"

Mike: "C'mon, don't be shy, tell me!"

Marek: "Eech, I didn't like it much, to be honest…"

Mike: "What?! But it was great! There was everything! There was this
fat guy, thin guy, gay guys, dwarves, even Horse! What else d'ya
want?"

Marek: "Oh, well, actually, maybe you're right, but… you know… I
somehow didn't find my way to the film."

Mike: "Got no idea what are ya talking about."

Marek: "What I want to say is that I couldn't identify with those
people on the screen. I mean, I could possibly manage to imagine
myself being unemployed, I know a lot of young people who are, but
the FM is about a bunch of lads who want to earn money. Job of
security guard is unacceptable for them, but stripping is. Why?

Mike: "You tell me, clever Dick."

Marek: "It's quick, it doesn't involve much effort and you can get
heaps of money, that's why."

Mike: "Seems to me that you know pretty well what are you talking
about, huh?"

Marek: "Now stop it! There are people watching!"

Mike: "Oh, I see… eeh, hi there! Uh, we were just… ya know… having a…
kind'uv… little chat."

Marek: "It's OK, they can listen, right?"

Mike: "Sure, no problemo as far as I'm concerned…"

Marek: "There were some things I didn't followed at all."

Mike: "What? Where?"

Marek: "We're discussing the FM, remember?"

Mike: "I do! You're not the only smart-ass around, ya know!"

Marek: "All right. For example the relationship between the father
and his son – it changed so sharply without any obvious reason. At
first, the son detests his father because he forces him to do "crazy
things" and then suddenly he fully supports him and his comrades in
doing the strip stuff."

Mike: "It's quite hot in here, would you open the window?"

Marek: "Do you listen what I am saying?"

Mike: "Of course I do! I liked the scene with traverse too."

Marek: ???

Mike: "You know, the scene at the beginning, when the father and son
are trying to steal the traverse. Boy, it was fun! But then I fell
asleep…"

Marek: "Just listen what I say and shut you mouth, will ya?"

Mike: "Uehmm."

Marek: "Later in the film, there is the fat guy. He has got low self-
esteem, because he is fat. He often touches his bare belly in front
of the mirror and whispers to himself "ooh, what a lazy fat bastard
have I grown up to". Ya know, that kind of guy."

Mike: "You do the exactly same thing every evening!"

Marek: "Just shut your face, right?"

Mike: "OK. But tell me this – if the film is not about stealing a
traverse, what is it about?"

Marek: "It's about baring one's ego."

Mike: "E-G-O? What's that?"

Marek: "Forget it. It's about a traverse."

Mike: "I was right then. As usually…"

Marek: "You were. Say bye to those people and get lost."

Mike: "Bye people. I'm lost."

Marek: "Now, when he's gone, please let me make this statement: Dear
e-group members, please excuse the first part of my nickname – Mike -
he is going through rather unhappy phase of his life. He is not
dangerous, only for himself. Anyway, thank you for your attention and
let us know how shocked and disgusted you were when you read our
schizophrenic dialogue. Kiss kiss."





50: "Hi, I'm the third part of the nickname. I refused to participate
in this childish and degenerate piece of text. I officially declare
that I don't want to have anything in common with the two loonies –
Mike and Marek. Goo'nite."

Posted on behalf of Jan, still a student at the University of Osnabrueck and
formerly a
student of mine.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 17:05:48 +0100
To: djn@dennisnewson.de
From: Jan Joachimsen <jan_joachimsen@yahoo.de>
Subject: Some more comments on "Laundrette"

Dennis,

you might have already found the DVD in your mailbox (where I put it
yesterday when I was "in the area").

And here are my comments:

I would not have thought that a film with a whole "cocktail" of
problems (unemployment, violence, homosexuality, crime, being a
foreigner, alcoholism etc) would still have such a "lightness" in it
and could be that enjoyable.
The story itself was quite uninteresting to me. But still -
throughout the whole film, I wasn't bored!
The reason for that is definitely the cast, especially Daniel
Day-Lewis. The director Stephen Frears surely contributed his part,
too.

There are a lot of things in that film that might be discussed in a
film seminar (editing, camera positions, light etc.). Not by me, I'm
afraid, since I only watched the film once...

Another thing that struck me while reading the names of the
production team is the name of the editor: Mick Audsley. He did an
excellent job in the film "12 Monkeys" by Terry Gilliam, "Interview
with the Vampire" and "High Fidelity" (the latter one also by Stephen
Frears).

Jan
------- End of forwarded message -------

Hi everybody

I hope you're enjoying this coming spring.

I want to share my opinion on the movie Bend It Like Beckham. I must say it was a very enjoyable piece of entertainment. Another cultural educational movie. I think feminists would like it too. We can see how different are cultures and traditions in this movie. Even though it's a happy ending one, and again changes in generation is delat with in this movie, we can realize that time's changed and we should accept it.

The English family represented by the posh dressed mother and traditional Indian folks are trying to live together not next to each other. I think we should try to do that in our own cultures, too.

That's all from me for now.

talk to you later.

Silvie

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.

Hello everyone,

this movie didn't quite make my day after I watched it. The title
carries irony which I could follow while watching the movie. When the
Mother was spending a quality time with one of her twin daughters,
she said something like you can't give up you should fight all your
life long. The sweetness is reflected also in the eating disorder one
of the girls was suffering from. I couldn't quite understand why all
the family members were trying to start a new job.
I think that the twin with short hair should go on a holiday to the
USA but she was the one who suffered the most. She was putting too
much afford to be happy but nothing paid her back. She was making
some money as a plumber but never went on holiday. That was strange.
I also didn't get who was the big funny guy. Was he related somehow
to the family?
I hope I can get answers on my questions after reading your opinions.

Bye for now.
Silvie

Hi,
my name is Elena Kartashova,Russia, Tambov.
recently I've watched the film "My beautiful Laundrette". i can't say
it was extremely interesting for me. all film long i was trying to
catch the main idea and the structure of the plot. frankly, i didn't
succeed in it. surely i got those social problems raised in the film
but that was all.the end is blurred - the boys are happy at last and
is that all? i'm not quite sure about the time the film was made -
somewhere in 80s, i suppose. so much has changed since that time: our
lifestyle, behaviour, moralty. maybe the film was supposed to be
shocking at the time it was produced, but watching it from the point
of view 20 years after, i could feel nothing but boredom. i may sound
to severe, i just didn't like "My beautiful Laundrette". i saw
nothing - neither a good plot, nor brilliant acting which might have
made the film interesting.
hope, other films will be more thought-provoking and interesting.
Lena

hi,
my name is Ekaterina Oreshina, Russia, Tambov.
several days ago i watched a film "My beautiful Laundrette" and i
can't say it made me excited. first of all, it was hard to watch it
as the film is a bit depressing, not only the content but the general
atmosphere. everything around is dark, dirty, noisy and disgusting.
the events take place in dark streets, the Omar's flat is terribly
dirty, etc. besides, i find the film shocking, especially for Russian
people as it's not typical of Russian mass media to dwell on the
problems raised in the film. e.g.: homosexualism, the life of small
national communities from within. those problems are of great
significance for the society, but i have never dealt with any of
them, maybe that's why the film didn't produce great impression on
me.
Kate
P.S. my parents were shocked when i told them about the film, they
didn't appreciate it.

Hello again,
this is Stefanie once more from Germany. I haven`t seen another movie yet,
but I wanted to take a minute to express my thoughts about this whole
group-thing. It is really unbelievable how much the opinions differ from country
to
country (I espescially thought Ekaterina`s message interesting) and when I`m
reading all your e-mails it is a wonderful feeling to be in contact with you
even though I never met one of you. Well, however, I just thought to tell
you...*_*
(By the way: Is it correct that I always receive my own e-mails? Strange
thing! Greetings to Mr. Dennis Newson, so cute how an e-mail can make your
day.*__*)
To Ekaterina from Russia: Why did you think the movie "My Beautiful
Laundrette" shocking? And why did your parents so? I find this aspect very
interesting. Maybe you could tell me.
Greetings to all of you,
Stefanie

--
+++ NEU bei GMX und erstmalig in Deutschland: TÜV-geprüfter Virenschutz +++
100% Virenerkennung nach Wildlist. Infos: http://www.gmx.net/virenschutz

Hey guys,

This is Sofya from Tambov, Russia. I'm going to try this whole thing
out, and yes, Stefanie, I quite agree with you, I think I'll love it!

OK, about the movie. Not only do opinions differ from country to
country, they do within a country, as I've noticed recently.
As for "My beautiful Laundrette" - I do consider this movie
highly challenging and thought-provoking. I would call it
even disturbing - so strong an impression it made on
me. Exactly because of the fact that the issues raised are not
typically discussed in Russian media (or maybe it's you guys, Lena and
Katya, who think so?), it should be of the most interest to us. I am
strongly convinced that this movie promotes diversity, not only does
it reveal a homosexual relationship, but also deals with issues
experienced by ethnic minorities, their attempts to establish family
businesses to manage in emigration, and the oppression they experience. This
is all complicated matter, and I do not really agree it should be all
neat and tidy, with lots of sunshine, cute ladies, and Hollywood
smiles. Life is NOT like that, love it or leave it. Yes, dirt. Yes,
noise. Yes, darkness and mess, and whatever else that fits here.

If this is shocking, Katya, do you think you should close your eyes and
turn away? "I don't see it, therefore, it doesn't exist." Is this what
you're implying? I am arguing that personal challenges should be
recognized and taken advantage of, but not turned down. Watching
movies wich are foreign to your mind IS a personal challenge. I don't
care if it was shot 10 or 20 years ago, its topic IS urgent. Maybe not
in Russia, but Russia is not the world in itself. If we live in this
country it doesn't mean we should close up in it - this would be a
failure to see what's outside and educate yourself on what can be
different from what you're used to.

I think that watching such a movie requires some previous tolerance
and understanding human differences education. Without it, I'm afraid
it will hardly be taken seriously by most of the viewers.

What do you guys think?
Sofya

P.S. My parents were very positive about the movie. They said, finally
we started watching serious matter that is truely challenging.

Hello , everybody,
I'm Lena, Tambov, Russia, and it's my e-mail all ur letters both for
Kate and me come to. So, I'm answering on behalf of us both. Well,
so much ado! I won't say about nothing, but still.
Sofya, nobody is saying that life is all sweet; and we aren't
pretending to escape from reality. The thing is HOW to show the
ugliness that may surround us. Have you seen the film "Dancing in
the dark"? It raises so many tough problems, I assure you. But this
film was created in such a way that even in the ugliness of the
world there was something amazingly attractive, something which made
me cry and watch the film holding my breath! And what about MBL? I
DO NOT want to pretend I was extremely interested and I foud much
artistic value in the film.
I've noticed that our remarks, Kate's and mine,caused irritation and
indignation. But we were honest and THAT'S THE WAY WE SEE IT.
And, guys, I don't think it's a question of our national mentality -
the way we perceive films, I mean - it's all about our own, personal
perception of the world. Think of the masterpieces among films - they
are all about common human problems, most of them concern exactly
social problems and they also contain dirt, darkness,etc. But it's a
real pleasure to watch them, even if they are depressing.
Again to Sofya - diversity is great, and I agree with you that MBL
raises many tough problems, but remember, we are speaking about
a feature film, not a TV programme devoted to some social problems.
Films - good films, I mean - reflect the reality in a little bit
another way.
What do you all think of it?
Lena
P.S. Sofya, a little bit more tolerance, ok?

Wath`s up everybody,
yep, this is something I like, the discussion between Katyalena and Sophia.
Well, it`s a bit harsh, at least, but isn`t this what movies should be about?
They are not meant for you to watch them and feel at all comfortable. If it
is a good movie people shall feel touched by the story and the protagonists.
And even if you didn`t like the film it means that it was touching. You maybe
felt uncomfortable. For those of you who really liked the movie and now
wonder about those that didn`t like it: calm down, taste is different. I think a
really good present example is "The Passion". Anyone seen it? Well, you see,
I really can take a lot in movies, but there where some scenes I thought too
much for me. Still it was a very good movie and I am not religious. But it
made me think about issues I had never thought about before. People might have
other opinions, but whatever these may be about, they felt touched in one way
or the other.
Well, enough about touching for today,
greetings to all of you,
Stefanie

--
+++ NEU bei GMX und erstmalig in Deutschland: TÜV-geprüfter Virenschutz +++
100% Virenerkennung nach Wildlist. Infos: http://www.gmx.net/virenschutz

Lena, Stefanie -

You guys are right, no doubt in that. Thanks for pointing out some
harsh moments, I'm bad in that I know. :) I'll try to sound more
positive next time. :)

Sofya

Hey, everyone!

We've watched another good movie today - this time it was "East is
East". Here's my review.

East is East.

Damien O'Donnell directs a movie based on a play written by Ayub
Khan-Din, which reveals a number of issues an immigrant family may
encounter. The action takes place in a small English town Salford,
where on the outskirts lives the family of a Pakistani immigrant
Zaheed. His second wife and mother of his eight children is an English
woman, who has been next to him for twenty-five years. The problematic
line starts off at the beginning of the movie when the eldest son,
Nazir, right in the mosque refuses to get married to the lady he only
gets to see at the wedding ceremony, which fosters his abandonment
from the family. The theme of fixed marriages pierces the whole film,
with Zaheed taking steps to arrange the unwanted marriages of his two
other sons, Abduhl and Tariq, to the daughters of a Pakistani man from
a different town.

This movie deals more with issues within a
bi-cultured family, rather than of the family and the foreign
environment. The children, being raised by a mother of Christian
background, are reluctant to accept the values and traditions of a
more restrictive Muslim religion of their father. The sons and an only
daughter of the family struggle for their rights to choose their own
ways and live their own lives. There is a constant conflict between
the father, who refuses to admit that a Pakistani family in England
will never be like the one in Pakistan, and the children, who rebel to
his orders and directions and cling to their mother's side.

The relationship between Zaheed and Ella, his wife, is as well
contradictory. Ella fully assumes the behavior of a Muslim woman
subordinate to her man in the family, doing "women's job", but it is
Ella and not Zaheed, who deals with authorities, immigration officers,
has the heaviest workload in the chip shop that her husband owns. And
still, she gets beaten up for defending her own children from the
attacks of their father, that is for the thing that any devoted mother
would do in her place.

The movie is especially interesting to me as it
shows Zaheed's gradually growing inner conflict. By forcing his sons
to marry Pakistani women, he contradicts himself, having taken a
British woman for his second wife, and this discrepancy appears
extremely difficult for him to admit, as seen in his outrageous
reaction to Tariq's words pointing at this very fact. The tension and
fury within the family reaches its climax in elopement of three of the
children after the visit of the brides' family. But interestingly
enough, at the end the family reunites, the wife comes to her husband,
and this is perhaps too much of a happy end for a situation like this.

Still, the film is easy to watch, with plenty of humorous moments. I
consider it a good choice in promoting cultural awareness and
tolerance, due to its accessibility. I would note though, some
background information on rituals, traditions, and symbols typical of
the Pakistani culture is needed during watching to provide for better
understanding of the movie.

--- In film-viewing@yahoogroups.com, "Stefanie Krüger" <mulle2@g...>
wrote:
> Wath`s up everybody,
> yep, this is something I like, the discussion between Katyalena and
Sophia.
> Well, it`s a bit harsh, at least, but isn`t this what movies should
be about?
> They are not meant for you to watch them and feel at all
comfortable. If it
> is a good movie people shall feel touched by the story and the
protagonists.
> And even if you didn`t like the film it means that it was touching.
You maybe
> felt uncomfortable. For those of you who really liked the movie and
now
> wonder about those that didn`t like it: calm down, taste is
different. I think a
> really good present example is "The Passion". Anyone seen it? Well,
you see,
> I really can take a lot in movies, but there where some scenes I
thought too
> much for me. Still it was a very good movie and I am not religious.
But it
> made me think about issues I had never thought about before. People
might have
> other opinions, but whatever these may be about, they felt touched
in one way
> or the other.
> Well, enough about touching for today,
> greetings to all of you,
> Stefanie
>
> --
> +++ NEU bei GMX und erstmalig in Deutschland: TÜV-geprüfter
Virenschutz +++
> 100% Virenerkennung nach Wildlist. Infos:
http://www.gmx.net/virenschutz

Hi Stefanie and all, the fact is that discussion here is getting more
and more interesting. Pity is that our semester in the Czech Rep. has
finished. I do not know how many of my Czech friends will be able
(and willing:-) to participate in the e-group.
I have already posted my reflection on My Beautiful Laundrette and I
must say that I didn't find the film shocking in any way - it may
have been shocking twenty years ago (when the film was made), but it
should not shock anyone nowadays. At least, I see no reason why it
should. But Katyalena2000's submission is definately interesting and
discussion-provoking.
Bye to everyone.

Hello ,
guys,
Must say it's getting more and more interesting to take part in
these
discussions. This time I'd like to speak on East is East which
we've
watched
recently.
The film is based on a play written by Ayub Khan-Din, directed
by
Damien O'Donnell. This film is about a Pakistan family living in
Britain,
Salford. Being married to an English woman and having seven
children,
Zaheed, the father, tries to keep national traditions within his
family.
Wishing to get his older sons married, Zaheed clashed at the
open
protest: his sons, one by one, refused to marry the women they had
never
seen
before.
The idea of fixed marriage goes throughout the film and that is
the
superficial reason of the conflict. But actually the roots of
the
misunderstanding go deeper. This concerns both the life of
the
immigrants in a foreign country and also the collision of the two
culture
within one family. It is not for nothing that the mother, Ella, is
a
British woman. Although most of the time she behaved like an
obedient
Muslim wife (except the numerous situations when it was
convenient
for her husband to let her be a "free" Western women),Ella
still
brought something of the European culture into her family,
even
without realising
that.
The relationships between the members of the family are
rather
interesting and, frankly speaking, surprised me in a positive
way.
There is a stereotype that Eastern families are distinguished
by
strict,sometimes even cruel treatment of the women and children.
Maybe
that's true for those families living in the East. But here, in
the
Khan family, despite the unquestionable authority of the father,
the
mother and the children are not imprisoned inside the family.
Western
reality interferes with their living, crushing traditions,
changing
them. Thrusting his will on to his children, Zaheed tries to
preserve
the ancient traditions of his ancestors. His tragedy (although
the
film is full of humour)is in his blindness, his disability
and
unwillingness to understand that his children ARE already
different.
Thinking over the film I came up to the conclusion that
Russian
families have something in common with the Eastern ones. Of
course
some traditions are completely alien for us (e.g. the wedding
ceremony,
etc.) but still, our children, for example, are also much dependent
on
their parents, even when they grow
up.
I've also noticed one interesting detail. In the film Pakistan
people
often change their Arabic names outside their community into
European
ones, so Zaheed is called George. It is done for the sake of
convenience,
as it is difficult for Western people to remember complicated (to
their
mind!)Eastern names. The same often happens in Russia when
Caucasian
people substitute their names by easier Russian
ones.
Leaving all the conflicts of the film aside, I should say that
I
enjoyed watching this film. Especially I liked the pronunciation
of
the characters, it was amusing to listen to their broken English.
The
humour of situations was really brilliant, there was no
other
possibility than to
laugh.
Lena

P.S. The only thing I dislike about the film is that we all liked it
so
much that there's nothing to debate
about :)

Hi, everybody! Have you already seen the Little Voice? Do you like romantic
songs singing by a beautiful and shy girl? I cant say I am a fan of Marilyn
Monroe and the others meniond in the film, but in my view the girl (and the
actress as well) was pretty good. On the other hand, her mother was a sample of
an selfmade woman, too noisy to listen to father and her girl. I was amused by
unreal girl's shyness, she was too quiet. But at the end of film, the
explanation was given to me. To sum up, it was an interesting film with a deep
subtext. Sit down comfortably and watch.
Jitka

Hello,
My name is Ekaterina Oreshina. On Monday, April 5, I watched the
film "East is East" and I liked it greatly. Directed by Damien
O'Donnel and produced by Leslee Udwin, with the screenplay written
by Ayub Khan-din, the film is really worth watching.
This is a story about a Pakistani family, living in the UK. The
father Zaheed (George) wants to preserve the traditions of his own
family, to create small Pakistan in the center of England. He
arranges marriages for his sons, demands obedience and if a member
of his family breaks any rule, he is dead for the family. As a
consequence, George destroys the harmony of the family: he can't get
to grips with his wife Ella, he loses one of his six sons Nazir and
is about to lose Tariq and Abdul, while the younger son Sajid has
serious psychological problems, as trying to escape the father's
reproaches, he hide himself from the world.
The film "East is East" is extremely pleasant to watch. Though a lot
of serious problems are raised in the film, they are introduced in
a "light" way, that's why it can be called entertaining. The
problems the family faces are common for all people no matter what
country they live in and what traditions they follow. For instance,
mixed marriages were and are widely spread in our country. Looking
for money or adventures, some Russian women marry men from Europe
and Africa. Such marriages in most cases result in the following:
the couple lives together for some time and then the difference
between the cultures makes their life unbearable. The husband
disappears (goes to his country, marries another woman and lives
happily), while the ex – wife is left here, usually with a baby, and
does her best to earn money and bring up the child. Hearing nothing
about the husband, this woman is not likely to get married again.
Another thing is Ella's attitude towards what was happening in her
family. I can't understand why she follows her husband's demands,
forgetting about her children's interests for the sake of George's
tranquility. Every third women faces this choice at one time or
another, but more often women choose their children, and I think it
is more natural.
And the last thing: the problem of dependence. Unfortunately, one
can't organize a group (a family, a class of pupils, a group of
friends or a company) in which all the members are equal in their
rights and opportunities. One of the members dominates, as he or she
is smarter, stronger, more active, earns more money or knows more.
Women and children are always dependent, women emotionally ("I can't
leave my husband as he can't do without me: he is helpless and I
feel sorry for him") and children financially (certainly if they
think their parents treat them unkind, they can leave home and live
independently, but in this case they should forget about higher
education and begin working). So, being felt sorry for and giving
money to the children until they are ready to earn it themselves,
men are considered to be the leaders in their families and they use
this right to advantage.
So this film is pleasant to watch and interesting to discuss.

Director, Damien O’Donnell, managed to create quite a decent movie. The
problems raised in it make us THINK, and that’s what most important. And those
problems are quite a few: religion, family, love… Om Puri and Linda Bassett
played their parts quite well, although I would not call acting of the latter
best in her career. The plot is pretty simple: there’s a mixed family living in
the UK; he is a Muslim, she is a Catholic. They have a lot of children who
generally like being Europeans and do not give a hell about their father’s
dreams. But what is he dreaming of? The father wishes to create a regular,
normal Muslim family with its obedience and consideration. However, they’re not
in Pakistan or somewhere else, and things just cannot go his way. What is he to
do? He takes great pains trying to make the whole family obey, and gets nothing
in the end… Hold on, why NOTHING?! I’d rather say he gets EVERYTHING: loving and
understanding family, long and peaceful life. There’s another question: does HE
need it? Does HE want happiness like that?
There are lots of problems the director deals with in the movie. In some of
them he succeeded, in some – not (like the topics of homosexual love or even
art). But the question he did best at is purely psychological: it is the inner
world of the father of the family. The other problems are not truly colossal (I
mean, the way they are revealed); if I wanted to see a movie concerning
religion, for example, I would not run around and rock stores looking for “East
is East”. But the way the father is shown (left alone, tËte-Á-tËte with himself
and his thoughts) deserves true respect to the director and actor. This line is
a real success, the others – nothing outstanding, as it is stated above.
The title of the movie is as original, as unique as the story in the whole.
Nevertheless, I can repeat a hundred times: the movie IS quite decent, it DOES
make us think. So generally, it is worth watching it. The game is worth the
candle.

Director, Damien O’Donnell, managed to create quite a decent movie. The problems
raised in it make us THINK, and that’s what most important. And those problems
are quite a few: religion, family, love… Om Puri and Linda Bassett played their
parts quite well, although I would not call acting of the latter best in her
career. The plot is pretty simple: there’s a mixed family living in the UK; he
is a Muslim, she is a Catholic. They have a lot of children who generally like
being Europeans and do not give a hell about their father’s dreams. But what is
he dreaming of? The father wishes to create a regular, normal Muslim family with
its obedience and consideration. However, they’re not in Pakistan or somewhere
else, and things just cannot go his way. What is he to do? He takes great pains
trying to make the whole family obey, and gets nothing in the end… Hold on, why
NOTHING?! I’d rather say he gets EVERYTHING: loving and understanding family,
long and peaceful life. There’s another question: does HE need it? Does HE want
happiness like that?
There are lots of problems the director deals with in the movie. In some of
them he succeeded, in some – not (like the topics of homosexual love or even
art). But the question he did best at is purely psychological: it is the inner
world of the father of the family. The other problems are not truly colossal (I
mean, the way they are revealed); if I wanted to see a movie concerning
religion, for example, I would not run around and rock stores looking for “East
is East”. But the way the father is shown (left alone, tËte-Á-tËte with himself
and his thoughts) deserves true respect to the director and actor. This line is
a real success, the others – nothing outstanding, as it is stated above.
The title of the movie is as original, as unique as the story in the whole.
Nevertheless, I can repeat a hundred times: the movie IS quite decent, it DOES
make us think. So generally, it is worth watching it. The game is worth the
candle.

Olga Kolmakova, Russia

The title of the film we've watched recently is "East is East"  directed by Damien O'Donnell.

 The scene takes place in Manchester, England; in a small town Solford near Manchester to be exact. The main characters are members of a Pakistani family but with a British wife - Ella - by the way. One of Ella and George's (a husband) son - Nazir - is made to marry a Pakistani girl but he abandons their marriage just in its beginning and he leaves home. All the children in this family are made to follow Muslim traditions as it should be in Pakistan though they are not eager to. Sajid, the youngest son suffers a traditional operation of circumcision and gets a watch for it. He has to visit mosque as well as other children and to learn Urdu.

Soon George goes to Bradford, a city with a big Islam community, and he visits Mr. Shah's family who's got 2 daughters. Mr. Khan (George) wants his 2 sons (Tariq and Abdul) to marry Mr. Shah's daughters without asking them and showing them the brides. Some time later Shah's family gives a return visit to Mr. Khan but they leave soon resented by the hosts behaviour. Tariq, Abdul, Salim and their sister Meenah decide to leave home and to go to Nazir but they have to be back. The atmosphere gets tense in Khan's home and the whole family protests against Mr. Khan's attitude to them. So he has to leave home but his wife Ella forgives him at last because she loves him despite everything.

This film has much in common with the film "My Beautiful Laundrette"  as it also raises the social and national problems within the Pakistani community in England. It shows the clash between Asian and British people but, besides, it pays our attention to the inner conflict within one family. It touches upon the problem of mixed marriages and discipline in the family. No doubt, that in the mixed family there will be a lot of cultural gaps and misunderstandings due to the cultural differences and sometimes dominating of one culture over the other, when it imposes its values and norms on the other.

In the "East is East" the "Asian" family, as George wants to see it, is put into the western suroundings and that's why the children don't feel themselves Pakistani. British culture, its values and liberties are closer to them than muslim traditions imposed by their father. It's difficult for George to understand why children don't obey him, why they want to be free and independent because he was brought up in different environment and he has another mentality.

If we compare typical Western and Eastern families we will find a lot of contrasts and even contradictions between the way they treat children, the position of a woman in the family and even the daily routine. In British, and western families on the whole, children are welcome to become independent very early, to earn their living and to separate from their parents. As for Asian families, parents usually support their children even when they are grown-ups. The so called extanded families are very typical in the East. Western women have become emancipated and they are equal with men (though sometimes they suffer from it :-)). Eastern women are dependent on men and they are satisfied with their position. They consider it a humiliation chasing for men, for example. The list of differences can be continued...

But back to film. We can find plenty examples of such contradictions between western and eastern values. Mr. Khan sometimes is cruel to his wife and children. But this doesn't mean that he is not a loving father and husband. He wants to preserve the uniqueness of his culture in a foreign country but his methods are exteme, to my mind. He fails to create a veritable Pakistani family and he feels disappointed about it. But, I beleive, it's not in his power. The influence of the dominant culture and peculiarities of the western life are inevitable. They have become a part of this life and they have to take it into account.

 What's more important, to my mind, is how to combine these differences of cultures, not to be in conflict with the culture you're living in and at the same time to preserve the uniqueness of your original culture in your national community. If only you succeed in this you can be happy in a foreign country and not to suffer from any kind of oppression.

Speaking about the acting in the film I liked the actors' presentations of their roles though they were unfamiliar to me and I haven't remembered their names. The film is rather light and easy to watch though it raises some very serious problems. There are elements of comedy in it full of sparkling wit and some episodes where I can't help laughing. I think that students as well as middle aged people may enjoy this film and my star rating to it is     "3 stars".

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th

Bend It Like Beckham

This is a light and naive romantic comedy which mainly focuses on the clash
of two cultures, Indian and English. The movie is quite recent and it tackles
the problems of the contemporary young generation in Britain.

The main character, an Indian high-school graduate Jess, is very keen on
football and dreams about becoming a professional sportswoman. However,
her parents, especially Jess's mother, are strongly against this aspiration of
their daughter's; they would rather she went to a university. One day, quite
unexpectedly, Jess gets an invitation to play as a hatchback for a female
football team, where she meets a new friend, Jules, and the coach, Joe, who
definitely makes her feel different about him.

As their feeling grows, the tension in Jess's family sets in too. Jess realizes
herself as a football player and each time escapes from home not to miss a
training session. Still, there is one more conflict to come - Jules and Jess
quarrel over Joe… In addition, Jess's sister is getting married on the day of
the final season match and Jess has to choose what is more important to her,
family or future career.

Worry not, dear film viewer. The ending will be quite as positive as the
whole movie's atmosphere. Gurinder Chadha, the producer and director of
the piece, managed to create a wonderfully light and humorous film still
touching on the main issues of cultural communities living in Britain. He
throws some light upon the fusion of traditions, family discipline and
arranged marriages in the Indian community, as well as such universal
problems of the young as gender gap and making independent choices. The
director plays around some serious moments and finds a humorous solution
to them, which makes the movie very easy to watch. I enjoyed its every
single moment.

I've noticed that the movies we watch are getting easier and easier each time.
If it goes like this further, I wonder what the next one will be like. :)

Best to all,

Sofya

Hey everyone! There’s a new movie, and there’re new ideas to talk about.
Gurinder Chadha’s BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM delivers a positive message that doesn't
tax viewers in the delivery. It's frothy and undemanding, and proud of it. It
unashamedly wears the crowd-pleaser tag, and it's likely that some critics will
gripe that it's too eager to enrapture the masses. Bend It Like Beckham is
enjoyable enough that the sprinkles of artificial sweetness in the mix don't do
lasting or irreparable damage.
A wedding. Cross-cultural clashes. A young woman getting a makeover and finding
herself. But this isn't MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. In fact, it's not "MY BIG FAT
INDIAN WEDDING", either. However, it is a feel-good comedy that traverses
similar territory, if not exactly the same road. Marketing probably has a lot to
do with whether BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM finds its audience throughout the world,
but I would venture a guess that most people leave this movie with the kind of
warm, fuzzy feeling deep inside.
Jess (Parminder Nagra) is the British-born daughter of Sikh parents. She is also
a fairly typical teenager, and, as is true of nearly every teenager across the
globe, feels the need to rebel. Her source of rebellion is to play soccer, and
she dreams of one day being on the field with her hero, David Beckham, and
kicking the ball in for the winning goal. However, although her parents
tolerated her sports passion when she was young, they now believe she should
become serious about her life and prepare for the future. That means giving up
"children's games" for cooking lessons, marriage, and university studies. The
edict to stop playing soccer comes just as Jess has been offered the opportunity
to play for a semi-pro, all girls team. One of the players, Juliette (Keira
Knightley), has seen Jess play and invites her to audition for the coach, Joe
(Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), who thinks she's brilliant. So, what's a teenager to do?
Sneak out of the house and lie about her whereabouts, of course.
In addition to the main storyline – Jess trying to break free of her family's
restrictions and find herself without irretrievably damaging her relationship
with her parents – there are some subplots. One finds Jess falling for Joe,
whose affection is also coveted by Juliette. Thus, we have a time-honored
romantic triangle. Jess' best friend, Tony (Ameet Chana), has a secret he's
afraid to tell his mother. Then there's the question of whether Jess can lead
her team to the championship and get the chance to fly to America and be paid to
play. (Since when was the United States such a hotbed of soccer mania?) So, of
course, we get the big sports movie moment.
The leads are energetic and likable, especially Parminder Nagra and Kiera
Knightley, both of whom bring a lot of spirit to their instantly likable
characters. They are great in their roles, both funny, both beautiful. Irish
actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, whose career is on the upswing, exudes charisma and
may be on his way to sex-symbol status. Anupam Kher brings a sense of humanity
to a role that could easily have been a caricature – that of the strict father
who is torn between his own beliefs and his desire to please his daughter.
Juliet Stevenson, as Jules's mother, embraces the caricature label and turns in
a scene-stealing comic performance. She's strictly two-dimensional, but she's
funny in a cartoonish sort of way.
To conclude my “stream of consciousness” I’d say that BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
touches on some serious issues like cultural assimilation, but doesn't go into
any great depth. Like EAST IS EAST, Chadha's movie acknowledges that this is a
divisive issue that creates inter-generational conflicts, but chooses to go for
a more uplifting resolution. This is, after all, intended to be more light
entertainment than a "message movie."

And speaking to you, Sonechka, how about “DUMB AND DUMBER” or smth like that
next time? It’s gonna be fun, ain’t it?

And speaking to everyone, see ya (or… well, read ya…)