Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets

2000
Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets
7.3| 1h39m| en| More Info
Released: 19 January 2001 Released
Producted By: Canal+
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://www.ccm.ma/en/fiche_film.php?id=117
Synopsis

Ali, Kwita, Omar and Boubker are street kids. The daily dose of glue sniffing represents their only escape from reality. Since they left Dib and his gang, they have been living on the portside of Casablanca. They live in constant fear of Dib's revenge. Ali wants to become a sailor - when he was living with his mother, a prostitute, he used to listen to a fairy tale about the sailor who discovered the miracle island with two suns. Instead of finding his island in the dream, Ali and his friends are confronted with Dib's gang. Matters are getting serious.

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Reviews

Iva Fruhlingova It's a pity after this movie was produced for 15 years have I watched this touching masterpiece.Actually I was also a child at that time.It almost made cry for several times when I was watching it.The music is beautiful.It fits greatly with the story.The ending is also moving.I also have some questions: Did Morocco really have so many street children?Why and where were their parents?Are there still so many homeless children living on the streets nowadays?Just hope it is getting better.Though the movie may not be perfect.But it really touched my deep heart.It tells me that no matter who you are.There are always people who care about you.You have right to pursue your dreams.
Zoooma Moroccan film, brilliantly powerful, about life of the streets for three young abandoned/runaway boys who wish to honor their dead friend by giving him a proper burial. This is not Humphrey Bogart's Casablanca; this is quite a bleak life for these kids. They sniff glue and try not to rejoin a brutal gang they want no part of. They try to avoid being raped... but sometimes it happens. Yet they have the will to survive. Depressing as it might be, the movie still has warmth and is extremely engaging. The boys' performances are out of this world good and the cinematography drew me in and never let me go. I do hope I will be watching this one again one day.8.3 / 10 stars--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener
bobt145 The lyricism of the streets, this is a sad film about a Morrocan boy, his backstory, his death and his friends who elevate his life to meaningful.The comparisons to "Lord of the Flies" are natural.The kids are cruel, they follow a leader quickly, they don't understand some things an adult would immediately grasp, such as Ali's death.Some of my favorite scenes include Kwita's romantic swoon over an older girl whose pocket he has picked, the tough Mr. Winston, who defends his cardboard home and storefront and the revelation that Dib, a deaf boy and leader of the rabble of kids, did care, was saddened by Ali's death and had planned a proper burial on his own.Ali's relationship with his mother is told through a children's story, of two suns, an island, and a sailor at sea. It's magical, weaving at different times through illustration and back to life.In a touching scene, we find that these are Ali's own childhood memories of a taped story, not his imagination. And we find that his mother has kept his room as he left it.Why didn't she search for him? It doesn't seem possible that Ali's backstory is as true as the rest of the boys believe.And we are left to believe what we want to. It's very likely we believe in the streets, the poverty, the cruelty, even if we believe that Ali may have had a choice and may have joined the streets from shame, not fear nor necessity.This is a filmmovement title. Find it and see it.
lecourrierdemarco I really liked Ali Zaoua and I would recommend it to anybody. Great acting performance from such young kids. It's really a must see. It's well directed and the photography is beautiful. An incredible vision about street kids living in the ruins of Casablanca and a story about friendship and a good lesson about life. Said Thagmaoui is very good who personify Dib, a street Thug who's bullying a big bunch of poor kids who are dealing with drugs problems and beg for money all day long. I voted a 10 for this movie, but if I could've vote 11, I would've done it for sure. I even let go a couple of tears at the end. I watched it with subtitles, I don't know if a dubbed version exists, but, trust me, you must see this movie...