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.
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.