This film famously made stars of the director (Stephen Frears - Philomena, Dirty Pretty Things, The Grifters) , writer (Hanif Kureshi - although I think his later Buddha of Suburbia was better), Hans Zimmer did the score (Inception, The Dark Knight, Interstellar) and actor Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot, In The Name Of The Father, Gangs Of New York).
The film was produced for the Channel 4 TV station in the UK, but it ended up playing the Edinburgh Film Festival and later art cinemas in New York to critical acclaim. It benefited hugely from being shot on 16mm which has meant the film looks good today; films that were shot on video in the 80s largely look bad even when remastered.
The film is a fairly simple story about two young men, one an Indian, the other a white racist who end up forming a romantic,sexual relationship while working in a laundrette in London. Hanif Kureshi creates a lot of social commentary woven into the script. It's worth noting at the time homosexuality was still illegal for men under 21 in the UK and interracial relationships weren't as accepted as they are now. The film is a bit of a time capsule and I think some viewers will wonder what the fuss is about (a bit like watching Guess Who's Coming To Dinner today). It's brightly photographed and quite a bitter-sweet film, but it's not the masterpiece it is made out to be in my opinion.
The film was produced for the Channel 4 TV station in the UK, but it ended up playing the Edinburgh Film Festival and later art cinemas in New York to critical acclaim. It benefited hugely from being shot on 16mm which has meant the film looks good today; films that were shot on video in the 80s largely look bad even when remastered.
The film is a fairly simple story about two young men, one an Indian, the other a white racist who end up forming a romantic,sexual relationship while working in a laundrette in London. Hanif Kureshi creates a lot of social commentary woven into the script. It's worth noting at the time homosexuality was still illegal for men under 21 in the UK and interracial relationships weren't as accepted as they are now. The film is a bit of a time capsule and I think some viewers will wonder what the fuss is about (a bit like watching Guess Who's Coming To Dinner today). It's brightly photographed and quite a bitter-sweet film, but it's not the masterpiece it is made out to be in my opinion.