Jalla! Jalla!

I haven't left the cinema on such a high note in a long time; Jalla! Jalla! is a very funny comedy about a man torn between modern European and traditional Lebanese life, who tries to keep both his personae satisfied by continually compromising between the two. It is also a story of the friendship between this Lebanese second-generation immigrant and his colleague Måns. The story takes some time to unfold, but the film's perfectly timed pace makes it a joy to watch even as long as nothing appears to happen, and it only gets better once the action kicks in.

Jalla! Jalla! is about change: grandma is still firmly rooted in the old ways, dad keeps up appearances but turns out more flexible than you thought and Roro is, for all intents and purposes, just as much a modern Swede as a Lebanese. Although he is sincere and outspoken, he's just not able to totally say goodbye to his heritage and his roots. Finally, it was very gratifying to see a film about immigrants without some profound and ostentatious message, but more occupied with the sometimes impossible daily choices between morality and practicality one is forced to make despite the lack of understanding in one's surroundings (and truth be told, neither Måns nor Lisa display much understanding for Roro's predicament). A good 'small' movie, I hope to see more of this director and these actors.

East is East was good, Bend it Like Beckham was predictable, but Jalla Jalla was really good. As in most romantic comedies, the end result will be a happy ending for everyone except the bullies and this movie is no different. But it does allow a closer look into the mindset of the "victims" of arranged marriages. It´s a really good movie. I accept the arguments that there are faults with the movie, but this wasn´t mass-produced in Hollywood, so that´s understandable and a charming factor, really.

The Lebanese immigrant worker Roro (Fares Fares) and his Swedish colleague and best friend Måns (Torkel Petersson) work in a park in Sweden. Roro and his Swedish girlfriend Lisa (Tuva Novotny) are in love for each other, and Lisa wants to be introduced to his family. Måns is having erection problem with his mate, but is looking for alternative methods to resolve the situation, since he is afraid of going to the doctor. When Roro finally decides to present Lisa to his family, they arrange a wedding for him with the Lebanese Yasmin (Laleh Pourkarim). Yasmin and Roro agree to pretend that they are going to get married to relieve the pressure of their families, leading them to a great confusion.

"Jalla! Jalla!" is a delightful Swedish romantic comedy, a must-see in the genre. On the contrary of Hollywoodian romances, the characters are common people, without fancy cars, expensive cellular and high positions, therefore absolutely believable. Tuva Novotny is amazingly beautiful, and her romantic pair is a man very thin and not handsome, in a non-acceptable Hollywoodian standard. The storyline is very simple, but there are many funny situations in this highly recommended entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Jalla! Jalla!"

Well this is pretty rare thing as I'm reviewing on Swedish comedy oriented drama, the genre I'm not so familiar with. I got the DVD for a birthday present and I probably would not have bought/rented/watched the film otherwise. The film is however pretty positive experience and recommended highly for most of the people.

It tells the story of Swedish youths that are having little problems with relationships, relatives, impotence and other stuff. I won't tell too much about the plot but there are many things found in normal every day life, too, so I think many will be interested once they start to watch the film.

The director is young and talented Josef Fares and many of his relatives also act in this film. The actors are mostly young people, like 1978-1982, and couple of older, too, but they all are very talented and natural. It took 30 days to shoot the film, and technically the film is very great as there are many different techniques used by the director and the story is also very interesting, and genuinely funny, not some stupid slapstick comedy.

The themes of the film are mainly about love and the total misunderstanding of it. It shows that love cannot be "arranged" or planned, it is born once the two right people meet and there is no need for help from another parties. This is important issue and is more powerfully depicted in Jane Campion's masterpiece The Piano.

There are also other things that are topical all the time, and the impotence of one character is one of them, despite I don't know how usual impotence is in these age groups of 30s or so. Well, that subject matter is also depicted warmly and with positivism and the subject matter of love is once again the main key for the problem. And many hilarious scenes about the impotence are also included!

The dialogue and scenes are often hilarious and I found myself laughing very much throughout the film. This is positive cinema at its greatest, and therefore this can be recommended for everybody with interest in cinema. There are many great actors and actresses in the film and they really do their job fine, and this was feature debut for many of the actors. It is not visible, though!

I give this positive piece of life 8/10 and high recommendations!

This film marks the beginning of a career that hopefully will spawn number of good films in the future. Little known Fares has made an intelligent and very funny film. I totally recommend all people who have the opportunity to see this movie.