Con’s Score: 4.5 sugar-coated ice cubes
The title means ‘Chaos’ in Arabic in this story about a young 12 year-old boy who sues his parents ‘For giving me life’. (This is far more profound than Macaulay Caulkin divorcing his parents.)
The film opens with the court case before going into flashback through the cynical eyes of Zain (Zain El Raffaea) a 12 year-old with a sharp tongue and a strong spirit. His family lives in squalor and he doesn’t go to school. Sugar-coated ice cubes are their treats. The family needs his money from selling juice and working for Assad, who has eyes for his sister, Sahara. She’s all of 11 and Zain teaches her how to hide her periods so the family doesn’t marry her off to Assad. Poverty forces compromise, Sahara is married off and Zain flees in disgust.
He is taken in by Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) an Ethiopian refugee, who has to paint on a beauty spot so she looks like her fake ID which is about to expire. Zain babysits her cute toddler Yonas (Treasure) while she scrambles to find the $1,500 for an updated fake one, and she refuses to sell her child. (These are choices?) Young Zaine is forced to fend for Yonas.
Drama is about the choices people make under pressure, but poverty usually provides very few options. Poverty forces compromise, and the moral line is clearly drawn. For some it’s a luxury they cannot afford.
Director Nadine Labaki (Where Do We Go Now?) has produced a masterpiece. The camera is hand held, which suits the reality of life in the streets, but she still produces some poignant shots, and some of the editing is fast-paced. She cast from the streets as she didn’t think actors could produce what these characters have lived ‘with legitimacy’. It works. Ironically, Shiferaw was arrested during filming and Labaki had to sponsor her to stop her being deported. Treasure’s parents were also arrested, and Labaki became a baby-sitter as well. It’s all unerringly real and their reactions are pure.
I’ve been describing this as ‘Lion’ or ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ minus the happy plot twists, so you’ll need a few tissues handy. (Some have called this ‘poverty porn’. To them I say: ‘Nonsense. You use tissues your way. I’ll stick with mine.’) Yet it still has hope and humour. When people ask Zain why his ‘brother’ Yonas is black, it’s because ‘My mother drank lots of coffee when she was pregnant.’
Zain Al Rafeea is brilliant as the lead. These kids grow up tough as they literally fight for their lives on the streets, and he masters the juggle between hardness and care. He simply is Zain; there’s no acting required. Zain El Raffaea as Rahil is elegantly stoic. All these ‘actors’ produce excellent performances, and Labaki’s casting gambles have paid gold. (Look out for her as Zain’s lawyer.)
This film speaks for the children born into poverty and anonymity, who are neglected by the system which refuses to recognise them. It didn’t need the court room scene to make its point. It’s about the cycle of life and how hard we make it for refugees to have one. Zain’s eyes and eventual smile will stay with you long after the credits, which you’ll need to compose yourself.
It’s as powerful as any documentary and a profoundly moving one. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes and should line up for an Oscar. Roma should beat it, but it’s so much harder to produce a film of this power with no budget and untrained actors. It’s not often you see hardened reviewers drying their eyes. This is a brilliant film.
Con Nats – On The Screen
