‘Zero’ by Nour EddineLakhmari

 ‘Zero’ is a distinguished film which is written and directed by NourEddineLakhmari. The film tackles serious issues daringly- prostitution, alcohol, and corruption. It has also received more than 30 several awards inside or outside the country.

‘Zero’ tells the story of a cop, Amine Bartal, who is nicknamed Zero (YounesBouab), and the conflicts that he encounters within his context. AmineBartal is corrupted cop that uses a young prostitute (Mimi) to swindle her clients their money. Bartal’s superior is another corrupt man who protects a big luxury prostitution network that exploits young girls. Zero is harassed and belittled by his superior because he refuses to succumb and cooperate with his corrupted friends.

Zero fancies a doctor; yet this love has no ground in reality and that’s what he knows clearly. Then, a women looking for her daughter would invoke Zero to revolt against everything and save her daughter whom he knows that she is abducted by the prostitution network.

Lakhmari keeps the same critic tune of his previous film ‘Casanegra’, and ‘zero’ sheds light on another sphere of the society. He also tresses the fact that corruption contributes to the spread of other issues such us prostitution.  Though the movie is shocking as many claimed, Lakhmari considers his film as a treatment with shock.

Director: NourEddineLakhmari.

Genre: Drama.

Cast: YounesBouab, Mohamed Majd, Zineb Samara….

Release: 2012

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‘Casanegra’ by Nour Eddine Lakhmari

There are several movies that have been shot in Casablanca, and each movie tackles a certain facet of life in the metropolitan city. Regardless of that, today’s movie concerns itself only with the dark side in the city where far away from the city lights resides the wretched of the earth. Thus, Casablanca is only white for those who enjoy a decent life, but it is ‘casanegra’ for Karim (Anas Elbaz) and Adil ( Omar Lotfi).

Karim and Adil are close friends in their twenties, jobless, and welling to change their situation with a magical stick. Karim is trying to keep bone and flesh of his family including his retired ill father. Though, he is in love from afar with a classy and chic woman who seems to deepen his self-conscious of his situation. Otherwise, Adil’s dream is to go to Sweden with illegal paper to escape his miserable situation and save his mother from his psychopath stepfather.

These provocative conditions push the young men to work for a dealer, Zrirek (Mohamed Benbrahim). Adil seems enthusiastic about the job because he needs money to realize his dream, whereas Karim suspects Zrirek and he tries to dissuade Adil from working with him. Afterwards, the mission that Zrirek entrusts Adil and Karim failed and all their hopes fade away. `   

Nour Eddine Lakhmari brings out a forsaken world not only in Casablanca but the whole country. The people of this world are the menial workers who spend 8 hours standing for dozens of dirhams. Adil and karim are a good example of guys who are willing to work yet not in the same miserable and inhuman conditions.

Director: Nour Eddine Lakhmari

Genre: Drama

Cast: Anas Elbaz, Omar Lotfi, Mohamed Benbrahime, Ghita Tazi, Driss Roukhe…

Release: 2008

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‘Whatever Lola Wants’ by Nabil Ayouch

'Whatever Lola Wants' is a trans-cultural movie which is shot in America, Morocco, and Egypt. The movie follows a dream of a girl across continents to learn belly dancing. The name of the film has its roots in the entertainment dancing world. It is a popular song inspired by the ‘Spanish dancer’ LolaMontez’s saying.

Lola (Laura Ramsey) is an American dancer who gets inspired by oriental dancing through her Egyptian gay friend and coworker Yussef (Achmed Akkabi). Lola works a part time job in a post delivery and in a restaurant as a entertainer and waitress. She meets Zak (Assaad Bouab) whom she delivers litters every day and who is also from Egypt. Lola falls in love with Zak but he leaves her back to Egypt when he knows about her dream of being a dancer. After that, she decides to go Egypt to look for Zak and learn belly dancing from a real teacher. Zack does not welcome her properly and she discovers that he engaged to his cousin. Then Lola starts off looking for her inspiring dancer Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos) who at first refuses to teach her but agrees later. Lola realizes that Ismahan stops dancing because of an adulterous accusation that separate her from her husband. However, Lola keeps on learning becomes a celebrity belly dancer in Egypt and dedicates her success to her teacher Ismahan.

The film ‘Whatever Lola wants’ gathers cast from different countries (America, Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon) to strengthen the idea of the film which corrects some misunderstandings of different aspects such as dancing and its bad connotation in the Arab world. Besides, Lola does nor learn a lot about the Egyptian culture, yet she manages to win people’s hearts with her cheerful and passionate spirit.

Director: Nabil Ayouch

Genre: Romantic drama

Release: 2007

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‘they are the dogs’ by HichamLasri

Here we continue our journey with another film ‘The are The dogs’ written and produced by the Moroccan director and scriptwriter HichmaLasri. The film is shot by a follow camera, and the motion and shakiness of the camera lend the film a taste of documentary.

The film is about a TV crew who are looking for an interesting story in the light of the turmoil that the country witnesses in the eve of the Arab Spring. Among protestors, they find an amnesiac man who has just been released from 30 years prison after he was arrested in the uprising events on 1981, and now he is looking for his family.The playful crew manage to help the man who, doesn’t remember his name. Thus, they resolve to bring together the pieces of the anonymous man story. At the end of the film, the crew succeed to find the family, but the welcoming is so cold to the prisoner father who accepts the matter since he admits that he was not a good father and husband.

The film criticizes media, especially TV, and the way how it distorts reality. The film highlights many questions, but it answers none; thosequestions are for the audience to introspect, instead. Freedom of speech, political violence, and social justiceare concepts that span between the past and the future interposed with citizens’misery.

Direcror: HichamLasri

Genre: Drama

Realease: 2014

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‘Much loved’ by Nabil Ayouch

This is the third film that I have worked on by Nabil Ayouch after ‘Ali Zaoua’ and ‘Horses of God’. Ayouch has a special approach in dealing with social issues in each of his movies. He mainly thinks out of the box when it comes to dealing with the story as if you are watching real events through the frames of a TV box.

In today’s film, the story arouses too much criticism and contempt within the general audience who consider the work to be merely a pornographic film.  Apart from that, Nabil Ayouch has another point of view and he succeeds to convey it to the audience and the chaos that his movie creates proves that. 

Sometimes, it is hard to tell people about reality; yet, it is necessary to unveil reality when it comes to the suffering of people. Ayouch, as he used to do in all his movies, is faithful to the issues which he deals with; despite the fact that prostitution is an enormous phenomenon. 

The film is about three prostitutes: Noha (Loubna Abidar), Randa (Asma Lazrak), and Soukaina (Hakima Karaouane ). The film records as much as possible the prostitution life of the three women. Once you watch such film, you will reconsider many ideas about prostitutes who are looked down in our society.

This time I choose not to summarize the film's story because everything is clear. Besides, the message that i absoreb from the film is that every human being is good by nature and never choose to be bad , but the environment and coincidence draw lines of their future that may follow unconsciously. Thus, one should not judge. People should always respect the harshness others undergo.

Director: Nabil Ayouch
Genre: Drama
Release: 2015

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‘Classroom 8’ by Jamal Belmejdoub

‘Classroom 8’ is one of the films I like a lot when I watch back in 2005. The film is about naughty boys in school and whom of us that does not experience this phase, but the story here is different a little bit.

The film revolves around two naughty and aggressive students Mjid (Rafik Boubker) and Miloud (Aziz Hattab) and their newly appointed young teacher Laila (Fatima khair).  Mjid and Miloud are example of all students who go to the class not for study but just to have fun at the expense of their teachers and class-mates. Once Laila starts the classes Mjid and Milod keeps bothering and interrupting her and making fun of her and the class. Mjid from the first sight seems to fall all over Laila and he spies on her personal life with her fiancé. To some extant Mjid mixes Laila's personal life with his fun in the class and that drive Laila mad and she pass out.

Laila’s fiancé, Rachid, tries to interfere in order to help Laila, but she refuses that and manages to deal the matter alone. Afterwards, Laila changes her way of dealing with her students as a punishment for them, and also she gives them an example of the other type of teachers who unwilling to bother themselves with students. At the end, Laila succeeds to change the behaviors of her naughty students and helped them to set new goals for their life.

‘Classroom 8’ is a perfect sample of the difficulties that teachers encounter in their mission which hinder the transmission and the construction of knowledge with students. The film also gives a picture of aggressive students and emphasizes the condition in which Mjid lives in. the idea behind this is that a boy/girl is made aggressive due to certain conditions and through communication and understanding one can change his/her behaviors.

Director: Jamal Belmejdoub

Year: 2004

Genre: Drama

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