Kassablanka

Well, to be honest...I could think of at least 50 movies I liked better than this one, but somehow this movie really kept me thinking for hours after seeing it. I even had a discussion with my friends afterwards in a café about the issues in this movie, which for me is quite unique.

The whole movie takes place in Antwerp (Belgium). Antwerp is not only known for its port and diamonds but also for the large amount of people who have voted for the local right-wing extremist party "Vlaams Blok" (1 out of 3). This story takes place a couple of days before 'Zwarte Zondag' (Black Sunday), when the Vlaams Blok-party won a lot of votes...

The story itself is quite simple... a Belgian guy and a Moroccan girl fall in love. And because of their parents, friends and neighbours wouldn't understand (or approve of) their love they have to hide it. You could say it's a modern "Romeo & Julia", but in a racial context.

I thought the story had quite some flaws: somehow I got the impression the director wanted to tell too much, when he only had +/- 1h30 to tell it. e.g. the romance (the main 'issue' in the movie) seems almost a matter of secondary importance, because it takes maybe 5-10 minutes of the entire movie for the 2 main actors to meet, talk and fall in love. Besides, the acting certainly wasn't that great (everyone was quite mediocre even the 2 leading actors), but still believable.

Why then would I recommend you to see it?

Well, for one: when this movie came into our theatres, one of the (would-be) spokesmen of the muslim community (Dyab Abou Jahjah) forbid muslims to go see this movie, because it was supposedly disrespectful to Arabs, Arab culture and religion. I (and anyone else I know for that matter, including muslims) didn't see anything disrespectfull at all. On the contrary: both cultures (Belgian and Arab) where shown in a positive AND a negative way. Anyhow Abou Jahjah's censorship didn't work, because when I went to see it there were some Moroccan girls watching it too.

But most importantly: You should certainly watch this movie if you can, not because of its story or acting, but because it raises some important issues and more importantly it REALLY makes you think about racism... and maybe even get you in discussion with your friends ;-)

7/10

I just saw this film in belgium and I must say it has been a very long time since I've seen a film that made the entire theatre (and myself) laugh out loud as much s this film did. It was a truly wonderfull film in wich the humor lies in the dialect and the dialogue. Not to forget the slightly altered version of "de plopdans". I really hope more films like this get made in Belgium because it is very rare for these kinds of pearls to come out.

The acting wasn't great, the story was full of simplistic turns and transparent characters. It's about the repercussions of the struggle between right-wing Flemish block voters on the one side and the Moroccon people living in the Belgian city Antwerp on the other side. Is it a political analysis ? Is it some kind of Belgian West Side Story or modern Romeo and Juliet ? The film just isn't strong enough to answer both questions (supposing those were the director's questions, too). Still, some of the scenes could function as a kind of Ken Loach film, set in Antwerp. After all, this city has been the starting point of the extremist right-wing Flemish Block party and is struggling with a lot of problems and tensions between different populations and cultures. It's very difficult to make a film about this situation, and this one isn't successful, unfortunately. Still, it's telling a story about a very real and complicated situation in present-day Belgium. The few foreign viewers watching should try and enjoy it and realise it's not the actual film that is important but the social dividing lines behind it that haunt Belgium, a 10 million people country, in the 2000s

Dries Van Dongen

This movie is a must see! The characters are very convincing, and by being so they are hilarious. This isn't a boring political correct movie, it doesn't choose sides, but just shows ordinary people in their ordinary setting. The directors have succeeded in showing the subtle equilibrium between love and hate and this against a background of racism, but most of all of stupidity and zelotism. Most of the actors are new, but the leading roles are played so real that the whole movie feels like a documentary. The local slang made me laughing out loud more than once. Guy Lee Thys has made a movie that forgives him all the trash he has made before

Kassablanka is probably one of those Belgian movies that goes almost unnoticed and thus misses a lot of the credit it deserves. Besides having a clear social message, this movie is also a good watch because of the acting, the humor and the ingenious way in which the resemblance between the Fawzi and the Van Loock families are shown (an element which you might not notice upon first viewing). Though most of the cast had never acted before, their performances are credible - when their characters are over the top, and most of them are, this has been a clear choice by the directors and serves the whole of the movie very well. The story may not be the most original - even Shakespeare wasn't very original with his Romeo and Juliet - but is an acceptable frame on which the rest of the film is built. A must see for its social message, and just for fun!