Brutal Dickensian lost-childhood saga from writer/director Nadine Labaki made with jangly Neo-Realistic edge in the shanty-towns of Lebanon, plays out in flashback from a courtroom where 12-yr-old Zain is suing his parents for neglect. The boy, imprisoned for stabbing the man who ‘bought’ his 11-yr-old sister for a bride, has already run away from home (to the circus!), and was living a precarious life helping an Ethiopian ‘illegal’ raise her toddler when the mother was picked up by authorities. Zain, left completely on his own, loses everything. Appearing young for his age, Zain may look like an Oliver Twist, but he’s all Artful Dodger underneath: street scams, lies, stubborn survival tactics. Yet it proves not enough, and when he briefly stops at his home to find some I.D. to sneak out of the country, he finds out about his beloved sister and his life spirals down from there. Stunningly well made with a cast plucked from the streets (in roles not far from their real situations*), Labaki pulls back from complete devastation at the end, offering a bit of hope for a few. Something that did come to pass for Zain Al Rafeea and his actual family, now settled in Norway. Dark as this is, there’s something uplifting amid the bare existence and the will to go on. (Labeled Family Friendly but no Kiddie film.)
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: You need to go back to Mira Nair’s SALAAM BOMBAY/’88 to find its equal. Hopefully, Labaki has as much to say beyond this as Nair has shown. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2018/02/salaam-bombay-1988.html
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *Yet still matching up to the Dickens cast list, a Nancy, a Fagin, Oliver & Dodger in one, a Bill Sykes. Though this Judge is no drunk, but wise & decent.
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