Fond Kiss..., Ae, (Just a Kiss) (2004)

88% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(4,329 ratings)

Director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty team up again for the romantic drama Ae Fond Kiss. The filmmaking team's third film set in Glasgow, this story involves a mixed-race relationship that causes problems for all involved. Casim Khan (Atta Yaqub) lives with his Punjabi-born Muslim family in… More Director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty team up again for the romantic drama Ae Fond Kiss. The filmmaking team's third film set in Glasgow, this story involves a mixed-race relationship that causes problems for all involved. Casim Khan (Atta Yaqub) lives with his Punjabi-born Muslim family in Scotland. He wants to open a nightclub with pal Hammid (Shy Ramsan), but his parents have arranged for him to marry his cousin Jasmine (Sunna Mirza). Then he meets Irish schoolteacher Roisin Hanlon (Eva Birthistle), whom he quickly falls for. After calling off his family-approved engagement, Casim is ostracized by his father, Tariq (Ahmad Riaz). Meanwhile, Roisin runs into a concerned priest (Gerard Kelly) when she tries to get a job at a Catholic school. Ae Fond Kiss won several prizes at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Ken Loach
Genres: Drama, Romance

In Theaters: Jul 14, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Mar 15, 2005
Studio: Castle Hill Productions

Critic Reviews

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
A small movie, told in a familiar way, and it fails to draw the big picture it could. But it does provide one unusual, and very striking sketch of two lives in crisis, and one community in transition.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
English-language East-West domestic dramas usually tip the scales in favor of modernity... But A Fond Kiss is equally sympathetic to each side.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Although Loach takes pains to present all sides of the issues he raises, he courageously faces up to the truth about people's lives, which is his abiding strength.
Dennis Lim, Village Voice
Even at its most rigged, there's always just enough to admire in the Loach model.
Kam Williams, Sly Fox
An example of cinema verite at its very best.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
With Loach's Romeo and Juliet in a post-9/11 world, his dramatic focus on an increasingly nomadic planet is both spare and blistering.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
With Loach's Romeo and Juliet in a post-9/11 world, his dramatic focus on an increasingly nomadic planet is both spare and blistering.
Eric Monder, Film Journal International
The film tells its tale so convincingly and stirringly, the familiarity becomes unimportant.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Loach delivers another of his beautifully observed portraits of working-class people in social and political turmoil.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
For Loach, the liberal filmmaker who is considered in film circles to be the social conscience of films, this is one of his lesser films.
Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
A wonderful ensemble drama that gently draws you into its political concerns with richly personal dramas, showing the bruising ups and downs of love and family heartache.
Laura Kelly, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Consummate recorders of the grit-and-grime struggle of the underclasses, Loach and collaborator Paul Laverty employ rapid-fire dialogue (rendered ear-poppingly undecipherable in Scots accents) in disheveled and very real family settings.
Jules Brenner, Filmcritic.com
I was offered a ring of movie matrimony, but it was less than a perfect fit
Brett Buckalew, FilmStew.com
Despite its flaws, it tackles the societal forces that try to enforce laws on the human heart with such unblinking honesty that it becomes haunting and thought-provoking.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Carlos M

A modern Romeo and Juliet story directed by Ken Loach. It may be a little soapy sometimes but it is always honest, told with simplicity and raising some solid questions about religious and cultural intolerance.
Cynthia S

They speak English in Scotland, but you need subtitles to understand them. I really enjoyed this movie. It explores many aspects of cross-cultural relationships with honesty and without oversimplifying it. Although the main plot deals with a romantic relationship between a… More
They speak English in Scotland, but you need subtitles to understand them. I really enjoyed this movie. It explores many aspects of cross-cultural relationships with honesty and without oversimplifying it. Although the main plot deals with a romantic relationship between a non-practicing Catholic and a Muslim, other subplots like the parents-daughter are equally interesting. Well done.
Mark A

Religious and cultural intolerance provide the conflict in this film about two people who meet and fall in love despite their differences. She is an Irish Catholic girl, teaching in a parochial school in Glasgow. He is a Pakitani Muslim man whose parents emigrated forty years ago, but… More
Religious and cultural intolerance provide the conflict in this film about two people who meet and fall in love despite their differences. She is an Irish Catholic girl, teaching in a parochial school in Glasgow. He is a Pakitani Muslim man whose parents emigrated forty years ago, but refuse to let go of the customs and traditions of home. Their love grows by fits and starts and threatens to tear his family apart and to threaten her economic stability. Hard to believe that a modern western nation has such strict religious laws on its books. Joy and sorrow and angst and family loyalty and religious faith and betrayal and starting over all take their turn in this one. It will make you angry. It will make you think. It will even entertain. All good reasons to see this one.
Daisy M

Ae fond kiss was more than a love story, it really spoke the difficulties from those of different backgrounds and religion when they fell in love. Family, society,careers, were deciding their lives. I enjoyed this movie from beginning to end.It had just the right amounts of humor and… More
Ae fond kiss was more than a love story, it really spoke the difficulties from those of different backgrounds and religion when they fell in love. Family, society,careers, were deciding their lives. I enjoyed this movie from beginning to end.It had just the right amounts of humor and romance and drama to make it more enjoyable.Ken Loach showed the subjects of religion, race, and cultural differences in a very sensitive way. The actors had wonderful chemistry, which made the story believable and likable.It was very well acted, and I highly recommended this movie.
Juli R

This is a modern Romeo and Juliet movie, set in Glascow. The star-crossed lovers are a Muslim and a lapsed Catholic. A good little film with insightful social commentary.
Leo L

Here is an extraordinary movie with an intriguing story plot. This movie follows the life and love of Roisin and Casim. When you love, you cannot help who you fall for and nor do you expect when it happens. Great cast. Fantastic music. Definitely worth seeing.