My Son the Fanatic - a movie review

14th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFE) was a great success this year. It offered a variety of movie genres that attracted people from different age groups. But mostly students were the ones who waited in long queues at Cankarjev dom ticket office. The movie that especially attracted them was Hanif Kureishi's masterpiece 'My Son the Fanatic', which portrays the life of a Pakistani family living in England. It is a story of cultures and generations, stunningly recorded on film to make the viewers take a new look at this matter.

Mr. Kureishi created many different characters from different parts of the world and joined their lives in northern England. The protagonist is Parvez (Om Puri), who has been a taxi driver for twenty-five years. He has abandoned his country, culture, religion and brought his family to a new, prosperous country in order to have a better life. Farid (Akbar Kurtha) is his son, who at first seems to have integrated into the British society and culture.

Bettina (Rachel Griffiths) is Parvez's best friend, a prostitute, and in a way a substitute for his wife Minoo (Gopi Desai), who he does not love anymore. Mr. Shitz (Stellan Skarsgård) is a wealthy German businessman, who has left his family and came to England in search for pleasure. He and Parvez meet at the airport and soon after that Mr. Shitz starts taking advantage of his goodness and his need for money.

The plot is highly enjoyable and full of nail-biting elements. The movie begins at Farid fiancée's place. Parvez is exhilarated by the fact that his son is going to marry an English girl. Her parents, however, do not share his enthusiasm and behave in a reserved and cold way. This is a turning point for Farid, as he realizes the extremity...