runamokprods A variation on Hector Babenco's great 'Pixote' this follows the theme of abandoned street kids, being played by real street kids. But "Ali" is much less gritty and naturalistic in style, if not story. Beautiful widescreen photography, some playful animated moments, and a slightly less despairing feel (although it's still pretty dark). A young street boy is killed, and his friends try to figure out how to and his street friends try to figure out how to get him 'buried like a prince', hoping to give his sad, lost life some meaning in death. All the while they have to fend off attacks from the local street gang, find the boy's mother and let her know about her son's sad demise, etc. Very well acted for the most part, and has it's share of touching, heartbreaking moments. But it also feels manipulative and 'moviesh' at others. Certainly a good film, if not quite at the level of it's ancestors.

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.

poe426 Life sometimes is a four-letter word. (More often than not.) The "enfant ensemble" in ALI ZAOUA couldn't be more perfectly cast (in view of the facts, in fact, better casting would be literally impossible). The nighttime musings of these kids as they drift off to sleep in the movie says it all: "When I'm dead, I'll be filthy rich." As mentioned elsewhere in these comments, I used to drive a cab. One night, I picked up a woman and three kids and took them from a very, very dangerous neighborhood to a slightly less lethal locale. The woman asked me to wait and left the kids in the cab with me as she ducked into a house. I waited (somewhat impatiently) and listened to the kids talking in the seat behind me. They spoke in awed whispers. "What does it look like?" "It's big- about this big." "What's it taste like?" "You'll see." I found myself grinding my teeth in anger. The woman emerged from the house and asked me if I could just wait a minute longer, that "he" was "on his way." I reluctantly agreed, but vowed that I would take my dispatcher to task for sending me on yet another drug run. The next thing I know, a pizza delivery driver pulls up. The woman rushes to him, pays him for two pizzas, and climbs back into the cab with them. I drive her back to her own neighborhood and ask her why she had the pizza delivered to another neighborhood. "Because the pizza guys won't deliver in our neighborhood." There are times, I swear, when it all gets to me. If you get a chance, see ALI ZAOUA and see what I mean.

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...