Quantcast
Channel: 'EVERY FILM'
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5121

158. Majid; movie review

$
0
0
MAJID
Cert TBA
116 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

I am still wide-eyed like a big kid when it comes to the technology of modern-day communications.
For example, I was able to see Nassim Abassi's award-winning Moroccan drama Majid after contacting the director through twitter. Then he kindly emailed me an internet link.
I needed to watch his film because it has finally being seen at selected UK cinemas, four years after its initial release and consequent acclaim.
So far, this year, it has been screened at three small movie houses, including an outing this week in Bridgwater.
Thus, I was delighted that Abassi, who also wrote the script, responded to my increasingly frantic pleas.
I am also pleased to add my voice of endorsement to a movie which probes more deeply into a child's psyche than most I have seen.
At the centre of the storyline is the title character, a young orphaned boy (Brahim Al Bakali) who spends much of his life trying to to earn money on the streets of his hometown, Mohammedia.
What is laid thick is how lacking in sympathy adults are for the little boy who sells souvenirs and cigarettes and shines shoes.
Regularly, he will get a clump around the ear for perceived cheekiness.
Meanwhile, his elder brother is fighting a battle with drink and is desperate to leave the country and start a new life.
Thus, Majid teams up with Larbi (Lotfi Sabir), another boy who is forced on the street by a father who beats him.
Abassi certainly highlights how dangerous it is on the streets for the boys but, as well as their vulnerability, he focuses on their defiant determination to survive.
Both Al Bakali and Sabir lure the audiences in through their characters' impishness as well as their obvious need for proper adult guidance.
They give performances which belie their young age.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7.5/10


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5121

Trending Articles