Kenedi se zeni

Kenedi hasn't lost a certain bashfulness despite being the star of other documentaries previously. It's endearing in a way that he has this sort of vulnerability set against his completely brittle and mercenary side.

I've seen this sort of lad hundreds of times, living as I do in North Africa where the mentality is similar. Bereft of feelings but hot-to-trot with either sex, all is subsumed into a burning ambition to get to where the streets are paved with gold. They really believe that. Try telling them that they'll either be on the streets or living ten to a room and the answer will come back that they have a friend of a friend of a friend who's living in a palace.

And that's the problem for Kenedi. What's he going to do when his paramour tires of him? Exploitation lies ahead, as it already did in the past.

The film explores these themes in a deft way and with some humour. But the darker side is always there. Who's profiting from whom? And where does the path to supposed riches really lead?

It's a sad film in the end especially when one imagines there are millions of guys (and some girls) prepared to take the same path out to what will lead to misery.

A great portrayal of masculinity in his home country. If it wasn't for cinema would we ever know anything of these people and their lives.

Zilnik deserves some kind of recognition for his cinematic protests against the prohibition of free speech and democratic rights in his country. His life has been dedicated to this cause and it should be recognised. This film is remarkable, poignant, touching & thought provoking. Zilnik flinches neither from issues which are currently topical in the west, (gay rights) nor sophisticated techniques of film making. You wouldn't see such a film nominated for an Oscar, but it's a better, greater experience than many which are.