This Moroccan was formerly listed and written about in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I didn't read much into it, but this recommendation was enough for me to take a chance on it. Basically, set in an impoverished village in Morocco, a group of fifteen-year-old children live on the streets. Ali Zaoua (Abdelhak Zhayra) is the leader, he and his fellow gang members: Kwita (Mounïm Kbab), Omar (Mustapha Hansali) and Boubker (Hicham Moussoune), are all homeless and uneducated. Since they left Dib (Saïd Taghmaoui) and his gang, they have been living on the portside of Casablanca. Most of the time they spend glue sniffing, a representation of their only escape from reality, and often stray into petty crime for food, clothing, and shelter. live in constant fear of Dib's revenge. Ali has ambitions to become a cabin boy on a ship. When he was living with his mother (Amal Ayouch), who was a prostitute, he often heard fairy tales of about the sailor who discovered the miracle island with two suns. One day, Ali and his friends are confronted by Dib and his gang of criminals, including teenagers and younger children. Ali's group are forced to hide for cover in the ruins as they are pelted by rocks. Ali tries to make peace with Dib, stepping out and talking to him. But one of his gang members accidentally strikes him on the head with a rock, leading the gang to flee. The blow to Ali's head is fatal, and his friends are forced to drag his body and are covered in blood. The three of them are devastated and want to give their former leader a proper burial. Kwita is treated badly by many, including the military, the police and by well-off children, because of his non-religious and petty criminal activities. Omar attempts to return to Dib's gang. Boubker, the smallest and most positive of the boys, temporarily despairs, but recovers. The boys all try various ways to raise money or find the necessary tools and traditions for a funeral, including a coffin, and a Fisherman (Mohamed Majd) with a boat, to give him the send-off they want for Ali. Against all odds, the three boys manage to arrange Ali's funeral to pay respect to their friend. He is taken across the water on a boat, in a basic coffin, and buried below the surface of a rig in the sea. Also starring Hicham Ibrahimi as the Sailor. This is a fairly easy to follow story, a tragic death of a child and his fellow street kids wanting to find the resources for his funeral, the cutaways of children's drawings turned into an animated fantasy adventure of a sailor are clever, and the Moroccan locations are most interesting, I admit it slow in moments, but a reasonable crime drama. Worth watching!
