Casablanca Beats (2021)
3.0 of 5 from 47 ratings
1h 41min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Director Nabil Ayouch (Razzia, Horses of God) drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a job teaching hip hop in an underprivileged neighborhood. Despite differences in identity, religion, and politics, Anas encourages his students to bond together and break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to follow their passion and express themselves through the arts. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of first-time actors, many of them students of the real-life cultural center where the film was shot, Casablanca Beats is a vibrant and inspiring coming-of-age hip hop musical with a decidedly feminist edge. Mixing intimate yet high stakes drama with infectious musical sequences, the film transports audiences to a lively and contemporary Casablanca, far from the clichés about the Arab world. Morocco’s official submission to the 94th Academy Awards® offers a refreshing dose of youthful inspiration alongside a powerful message about the liberating power of self-expression. - Actors:
- Anas Basbousi, Ismail Adouab, Zineb Boujemaa, Meryem Nekkach, Nouhaila Arif, Abdelilah Basbousi, Mehdi Razzouk, Amina Kannan, Samah Baricou, Soufiane Belali, Maha Menan, Marwa Kniniche, Abderrahim Errahmani, Marouane Banani, Hasnaa Ben El Fahim, Youssef Marhab, Aya Salam, Hanane Hafssa, Abdelkebir Labyad, Batoul Bengassem
- Directors:
- Nabil Ayouch
- Producers:
- Nabil Ayouch, Amine Benjelloun, Alain Cohen, Martine Cohen, Alexandra Henochsberg, Bruno Nahon
- Writers:
- Nabil Ayouch, Maryam Touzani
- Aka:
- Haut et fort
- Genres:
- Drama, Music & Musicals, Romance
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Reviews (1) of Casablanca Beats
Here’s Looking at You, Kid… But Not Much Else - Casablanca Beats review by griggs
Hip-hop in a Moroccan classroom ought to feel electric, but here the beat keeps slipping. The setup has promise: a charismatic teacher coaxing energy from teenagers, and when the kids trade rhymes the screen sparks. The cutaways outside class—where performance becomes a fleeting taste of freedom—are even mesmerising at times. Yet the film never digs as deep as it thinks it does.
The story feels thin, arcs more sketched than lived, and the familiar tropes of a dozen “teacher-inspires-students” dramas march past almost on cue. The young cast feels genuine, but too often they blur into types rather than characters. Scenes skate by easily enough, but the lack of bite, the lack of focus, leaves them oddly inert.
For a film about self-expression and protest, it’s strangely reluctant to push boundaries. The critique is muted, the uncomfortable questions sidestepped. Interesting? Yes. Fun in bursts? Sure. Memorable? Not quite.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.