Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets

2001 1h 39m FR

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

73%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 48🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes●55Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 2,986

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ali, Kwita, Omar and Boubker are street kids. The daily dose of glue sniffing represents their only escape from reality. Since they left Dib and his gang, they have been living on the portside of Casablanca. They live in constant fear of Dib's revenge. Ali wants to become a sailor - when he was living with his mother, a prostitute, he used to listen to a fairy tale about the sailor who discovered the miracle island with two suns. Instead of finding his island in the dream, Ali and his friends are confronted with Dib's gang. Matters are getting serious.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Mounïm Kbab
Kwita
Abdelhak Zhayra
Ali Zaoua
Hicham Moussoune
Boubker
Mustapha Hansali
Omar
Abdessamad Tourab
Nourredine
Saïd Taghmaoui
Dib
Amal Ayouch
Madame Zaoua
Mohamed Majd
Le pêcheur

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nabil Ayouch
Writers: Nathalie Saugeon, Nabil Ayouch
Languages: French, Arabic
Countries: Belgium, France, Morocco, Tunisia, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, Arabic.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 5 countries: Belgium, France, Morocco, Tunisia, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nabil Ayouch, shot by Renaat Lambeets. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Krishna Levy. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jean-Robert Thomann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mounïm Kbab and Abdelhak Zhayra and Hicham Moussoune carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0260688 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nabil Ayouch directs. Renaat Lambeets behind the camera. Krishna Levy scores. Jean-Robert Thomann cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, France, Morocco, Tunisia, United States of America. Dialogue in French, Arabic.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

125 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, Arabic.
3International production across 5 countries: Belgium, France, Morocco, Tunisia, United States of America.
4Directed by Nabil Ayouch, shot by Renaat Lambeets. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Krishna Levy. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jean-Robert Thomann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mounïm Kbab and Abdelhak Zhayra and Hicham Moussoune carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0260688 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "casablanca, morocco", "morocco", "homelessness", "poverty".