British film-maker Ken Loach has always courted controversy with his social-conscience driven films and Ae Fond Kiss which looks at interracial / interreligious romance will be no exception. Loach is a compelling filmmaker whose trademark gritty realism has won him much aclaim.

Ae Fond Kiss revolves around Casim, a Glaswegian born muslim whose family emigrated from Pakisan when his father was young (as you can imagine this makes for some interesting accents). He falls in love with one of his younger sister's teachers, Roisin - a lapsed Irish Catholic. However, as their relationship develops, their respective backgrounds clash forcing them between their love for each other on the one hand and Casim's family / Roisin's career on the other.

At least one critic has called this Loach's take on Romeo and Juliet, and there are certainly similarities, but such labelling grossly simplifies the subtleties of Paul Laverty's screenplay. For one thing the clashing backgrounds in this film are not at all based on an ongoing family feud, but are simply seen as non-compatible by both Casim's muslim father and Roisin's parish priest. The two simply have no interest in the other's existence, rather than hatred as with the Capulets and the Montagues.

However, it's the screenplay that's arguably the weakest part of the film. Whilst, some of the performaces are brilliant (particularly Eva Birthistle as Roisin and Shabana Bakhsh as Tahara Khan), the script starts out strong only to lapse into over-used clichés (e.g. the argument following a hidden secret between lovers) and tired stereotypes. The latter is particularly disappointing given the film's strong start. Tahara's opening speech denounces the way the media portrays all muslims as extremists, pointing out that Islam is as diverse as Christianity, and she cites the Pope, George Bush, Nelson Mandela and ex-Celtic footballer Henrick Larsson as examples. When her provocative illustration backfires Casim bumps into her teacher Roisin and the two fall for each other. Unfortunately, the script then proceeds to portray Casim and Tahara's family in an increasingly stereotypical manner. Wonderful early scenes such as the one where the family mark out their building extension degenerate into the stereotypical domestic film Muslim / Hindu - a stuck in his ways traditionalist unwilling to consider his children's rights in their adopted culture. One wonders if Laverty ever re-read his opening scene once he'd completed it.

Whilst the Catholics fair a little better initially, sooner or later they are shown to be pretty stereotypical as well. By the time Roisin's boss tells her she just needs to visit her parish priest for some routine verification its painfully obvious that's he's going to be from the authoritarian hypocritical variety, and Gerard Kelly's chain-smoking, snooping Islamaphobe certainly exceeds expectations. What balance Roisin's headmaster provides is quickly overwhelmed by a nameless faceless Catholic hierarchy that overrules his sensible pragmatism.

Such criticisms will probably sail under the radars of most reviewers, and indeed most reviews have rightly praised the film's many merits. But it's disappointing to see the intolerance of the last century replaced, not by understanding and appreciation but simply by a new form of 21st century intolerance towards people of faith.

Rated 15 for extensive sex scenes and language, but it must have been pretty border line!