Le chanteur de Gaza

This is the basically true story of Palestinian Mohammad Assaf, who won "Arab Idol" in 2013 and is now a goodwill ambassador for the UN. Those who know of his success will love to re-live it. But for perhaps the majority of westerners this is an inspiring, universal story of love conquering fear. The first 90 minutes are set in Gaza, where Assaf was raised. He showed talent early on. We assume that his sick sister will recover. But we're wrong. We're led to believe that Mohammad was inspired to succeed. The story of Mohammad's struggle to enter "Arab Idol" seems incredible. But he really did get a forged visa to Egypt, where the 2013 finals were held, and he really did break into the hotel to audition because he didn't have a ticket. The rest is history. The genuine footage of Mohammad's success being celebrated by thousands of people in streets throughout the Arab world is astonishing. Few will be able to suppress a tear as Mohammad states that he entered the contest because he wanted Palestine's voice to be heard. After success in Toronto, the film played the London Film Festival, where director Hany Abu-Assad revealed that he was mostly unable to shoot in Gaza, ostensibly because he was born in Israel. But the principal children during that first 90 minutes are Palestinian and it seems they were allowed to be taken elsewhere for the shoot, possibly Jordan. Mohammed Assaf was also present at the screening and claimed to be very proud of the way in which he was represented. This record of a talent contest inspiring goodwill between nations that continues to this day puts the nonsense that sustains the likes of "The X Factor" into a very real perspective.

The movies shows us how Mohammed becomes one of the most influential singers in the Arabic world. Apart from this point, nothing else special. This is a movie so when I watched it, I was hoping to see sth more. For example, how hard it was for Mohammed to achieve his goal. Selling grilled fish to buy instruments he needed was a good starting point, then I need to see more. If you want people to like your characters you create, you need more stories about them. Also more about traits/personalities, and characters' inner world. It was a good point to show us his inner struggle after he became famous few minutes before the movie ended. There should be more scenes like that.

What a great movie, hard to believe it is based on a true story! Amazing emotions, music, and images. We all hear in the news about what is going on in Gazza, but looking at one guy story, tells it all in such a better way. It is worth looking up videos and recording of the real Muhammad Assaf from Arab Idols before you see this movie. That is all I have been doing since I saw the movie! It is extra special that the director Hani Abu-Assad had the entire cast from Gazza. It is not about politics or religion, It is a great look at a single story and the power of Art. We all need to see more stories like this from this region of the world that is deeply ruined by political disasters.

I do love a good heartfelt true story, and this was right up my alley. I was hooked from the start and felt really bad for the sister, who would have had to have been the best actor in the movie (the main character as a boy had to be the worst I thought). The missed a trick however when they didn't really refer back to her in the Idol run.

The movie however was not without it's flaws. The splicing in of the Arab Idol took away from the emotion at the end of the movie and put a dampener on the movies end.

This however was only a minor detail as in overall terms this was a good movie which shows how reality shows can actually be important things for certain peoples.

This is a beautifully made movie highlighting parts of Mohammed Assaf's life, that give us a feel of where he's from, his childhood in Gaza, his talent for music and where he finally got to. It is a fantastic movie, that will touch your heart and make you fall in love with the humble young man who really changed his life around, and you can still see the modesty and humility behind his smile. This movie will take you on the journey of Assaf's life, right from his childhood growing up through the harshness of war, saving money to accomplish his dreams and his beautiful relationship with his family. This movie will make you laugh, cry, and feel so happy and proud of Assaf's accomplishments, whether you're Palestinian or from another part of the world. A MUST watch.