Once upon a time this would have been called 'ktichen-sink' but for now let's just call it British realism but whatever "Ali & Ava" is, it's a feather in the cap or maybe even a jewel in the crown of British cinema. It's a Clio Barnard movie which is really all you need to know. She may not be a household name and in America is probably not known at all but she's one of the best directors working in cinema and this hard-hitting, but deeply affectionate film is a joy from start to finish.
Set in Bradford it's a middle-aged romance between two people from very differnt backgrounds. Ali, (a terrific Adeel Akhtar), comes from an Indian immigrant family and earns his living as a 'landlord' and Ava, (an equally good Claire Rushbrook), is a classroom assistant from an Irish background who fall into a relationship almost by accident despite the racist oppositon of Ava's son.
They are united by a love of music and a need for company and they are two of the sweetest people to grace a movie in a very long time; you really want them to make it but you know this is a Clio Barnard film and Barnard never takes the easy option so ... It's also Barnard's most accessible film to date, funny and very moving in equal measure. How BAFTA came to pick "Belfast" over this as last year's Best British Film should be a mark of unending shame.
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