Gay far-right sympathizer falls in love with young Pakistani man in Thatcher's London: The magnificent 40th anniversary of My Beautiful Laundrette'

"My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), now 40 years old, is an extreme example of this second category. At first, it didn't even aspire to reach theaters, yet it became an international hit and a fixture on lists of the best British films, in addition to catapulting the careers of many of its creators. And it did all of this with a seemingly conflictive story, filled with social criticism, barbs at English classism, and queer themes."

"My Beautiful Laundrette tells the story of Omar. The son of Pakistani immigrants in South London, he doesn't want to end up like his father, a failed left-wing journalist, disillusioned by English society. Omar prefers to stay with his uncle Nasser, a successful businessman with a double life: at home, he acts like a classic patriarch, while outside, he maintains an English mistress and frequents dance halls."

"One night, Omar reunites with Johnny, a white childhood friend who has become a skinhead. They both realize they've become the opposite of what they once were because of their society's contradictions: one, racialized, has become a cynic who only believes in money, while the other who hails from the working class blames everything on immigrants. Acknowledging all this brings them closer together and they resume the love they had for each other as teenagers."

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) follows Omar, the son of Pakistani immigrants in South London, who rejects his father's disillusionment and stays with uncle Nasser. Nasser runs a respectable household but leads a double life, maintaining an English mistress and frequenting dance halls. Omar reunites with Johnny, a white childhood friend turned skinhead, and they confront society's contradictions that shaped them. They revive a teenage love and agree to modernize a laundromat used to launder drug money, producing an ending that mixes hope with cynicism. The film became an international hit by word of mouth and propelled several careers while exploring class, race, and queer themes.

Read at english.elpais.com