Zozo

The story of a boy who's living in Beirut during the war, He and his family are waiting for their papers in order to leave Lebanon and seek refuge in Sweden.... The horrors of war and the way it affects civilians is shown in this movie and it won't leave you untouched. But even in the most serious situations there is room for jokes and you will alternate between crying and laughing.

This is one of the strongest movies I've seen! I've never admired any director or even known that they were alive until yesterday when I saw Zozo. With three great movies (this one is the best) Joseph Fares has shown that he truly masters the art of telling a story.

I sincerely hope this movie is translated into English and other languages and if it doesn't get nominated for best foreign movie something is not right.

Don't miss this movie!

An 11-year old Lebanese boy Zozo (Imad Creidi) moves to Sweden from his heavily bombed home country after a tragedy occurs in his family. In Sweden he is welcomed by his loving grandparents (Elias Gergi and Yasmine Awad) but adapting to a new environment and learning a new language aren't easy for the boy who still suffers from painful memories of his old life in Lebanon.

The first half of the film takes place in Lebanon, which the brownish, orange-tinted cinematography paints as hot but full of light. In the midst of the frequent violent incidents in the city, Zozo's family loves him and wishes to give him a better future abroad. After arriving in Sweden, the mood changes from dangerous to longing, partly due to the beautifully green and bright Swedish summer that highlights the contrast between the two countries. His grandfather's lovable antics help him to get over past traumas and lead to some comedic incidents, but a sense of loneliness lingers on and Zozo knows that there's more to life than the grandfather's simplistic teachings suggest.

Besides the realistic portrayal of Zozo's experiences at the Lebanese streets and the Swedish school, the movie spices things up by adding an extra layer of fantasy in the form of creations from Zozo's imagination. Be it a talking chicken, a God-like ball of light or an explosive reaction to school-bullies, the visualizations of Zozo's inner world provide interesting insight to his character and make the film more memorable than the average dramas about adapting to new life.

Zozo is director Josef Fares' first move into a more serious territory after the comedic Jalla! Jalla! and Kopps, and as such it succeeds effortlessly. The story is inspired by Fares' own experiences as a young immigrant in Sweden, and his insight on the subject produces an effective piece of cinema with well balanced tragic and comical aspects. Thanks to Imad Creidi's unforced performance as Zozo and the bubbling joie de vivre of his grandfather, the film can be recommended to anyone interested in immigration-related cinema, but the sense of being an outsider in a group should appeal to big audiences as well.

What can i say. Joseph Fares has managed to capture on film the experience of what it meant to be Lebanese and to be in Lebanon during the war. Away from any and all politicization, away from the savagery and brutality the film is able to project the "Human" face of what anyone of us would go through given the circumstances. I left in 1989 as well, but i was one of the fortunate ones and my family remained safe. What Joseph and Zozo (actor) were able to produce together was beyond remarkable. Beauty indeed is found in simplicity, so is power. Carmen Lebbos who plays zozo's mother in this unfolding story is also able to bring the best of her game and i wouldn't be surprised if the film is able to capture more than one home run at the Oscars. Goodluck :) Hint: in Lebanon we call Joseph --> ZoZo :)

I have seen this amazing movie twice, the first time was on DVD and the second on cinema-theater which the all tickets cost are goes to collected for Lebanon support fund in State of Kuwait.

Zozo is the name of an innocent lebanese boy on the cusp of adolescence while his future and life are teetering on the brink of horrible destruction. actually he is too young to deal with the bloody Lebanese civil-war that is raging his country from the east to west!

So, and after his dreams & his hopes where destroyed, he is decide to travel to Sweden specially his Grandfather & Grandmother living there in peace.

and about the Film's fantastic fantasy it's as an breathing-space to audiences where watching an story's events of tragic & painful!! at this point specially I can confirm of this young director has really the competence for creating his line between the brilliant melodrama & the masterly comedy ! this is due to his talented-ways about blending the tragic's elements with the comedy's elements... without leaving his elements to interlacing for the calamitous melodrama or to sketchy comedy ... the film's way was convincible & will be ditto forever! So, the audiences will be at the end feels in happiness & in crying at the same time!

Well my readers, here & until this point must I stop the telling about the sadness & tragedy or fantasy & happiness elements in this amazing film!

Simply, we can consider this film ( Zozo ) is fully Lebanese, where 70% of it was shot mainly in lebanon, and 30% of it in Sweden. But even in Sweden the dialogue was in Lebanese too. Off course there is a little of dialogue in Swedish language ... but as I said we can consider this film is mainly Lebanese! from the director to the main actors they are Lebanese indeed not just acting and also through his main elements of events messages was in the lebanese circle even that was shot in Sweden...

This film is totally Different than ((Jala Jala)) this one is sad indeed, you can discovers his sadness between the elements. there are some senses inside this amazing film while you feel like crying!!

This young director been able to shown the true tragedy of his country civil-war! Josef Fares .. absolutely perfect & talented Director ... where crowned his early age as a big director!

I have seen his three films: Jalla! Jalla! (2000) , Kopps (2003) and Zozo (2005)

Until now (Zozo) is the best film of this young Lebanese-Swedish director Josef Fares.

at last, to "Kingdom of Sweden" I would like to say Thanks a lot for your great supports to appear this amazing film for us about that precious country on me!

MaximusQ8™

The young Arabian boy, Zozo lives a fairly normal life with his family in Beirut. He's got good friends, and goes to an Arabic school. His grandparents live in Sweden, and have been motivating him and his family to come too. Away from the war. To a place what they saw as a paradise. A place where there was not war. As he described it to his friends, A country with beautiful girls and pretty houses.

From that ideal life, the movie leads you through the tragedy that Zozo experiences.

Zozo is an amazingly beautiful film (but yet no where near dramatic), that shows the world from an dreaming, mature eleven year old boy's point of view. The poetic and surrealistic filming captures the emotions in an extraordinary way, and surreal chapters of his dreams bring you closer to his mind and imagination.

I've never before cried over a movie. But the thought of this movie actually only being half fictional, since there is, and always will be war, made me feel utterly selfish, and at these circumstances you must either be a rock hard sailor or an emotionally dead soldier to at least not be a little touched by this emotional and poetic filming, and feel sympathy for the people who have to go through these circumstances. When they are forced into a war they never asked for. The victims of political arguments.