Parfum de Printemps

Man alone against the world, seeking success, setbacks but 'romance' all in Tunisia in the capital of Tunis. Zizou sets out to find his fortune - he goes from clowinish bumpkin with his straw hat to a insightful satellite dish technician who stumbles on a sexy girl and plays, to the hilt, her Prince Charming all in the cauldron of the 'Arab Spring' ousting a corrupt govt. and its' oligarchical cabal - it moves smoothly and is fun to watch - I saw it as a suggestion in the LA Times 3 mos. ago - reserved it and well worth the wait.

This is a charming, somewhat picaresque comedy about a naive, but partially college-educated Tunisian hayseed (complete with the ridiculous straw hat) named Aziz (quickly nicknamed "Zizou") who comes to Tunis just before the Arab Spring and becomes much wiser to the ways of the world as events unfold in his own life and in Tunisian politics.

At first, Zizou is repeatedly hustled & used by various business, political & religious factions in Tunis, but he eventually falls in with an interesting crowd of characters in the souk (the open-air market) and begins working as a TV/satellite technician, a position that takes him into the homes of many in Tunis, some of them quite powerful.

A large cast of interesting & believable male & female characters plus some beautiful seaside scenery make this a believable world that the audience wants to live in and explore. That's important because the plot is underdeveloped and the protagonist is generally quite passive.

With the exception of a key subplot involving his attempts to rescue a beautiful woman imprisoned by the regime, the main character is largely afloat in the city, buffeted by the seas of the social change around him, as well as the machinations of others. But like Forrest Gump, Zelig, and Chauncy Gardner, he often ends up in the right place at the right time and often says or does something critical to the events that take place.

Although not groundbreaking, this is a likable film that offers an off- beat, rather light-hearted (but thoughtful & nuanced) take on the Arab Spring in Tunisia.

After 30 minutes, we turned it off. Even the porn could not save it.

With the main character arriving to Tunis just before the Tunisian spring, we follow him discovering Tunis and the different forces at work there. His naivety is a bit too much but it serves the intent to show the global picture.

The director add to that social layer a kind of modern fairy tale. The intertwined story worked quite well and lead to a pleasant historical movie.