Zozo
Josef Fares
Sweden | 2005 | 103mins | 35mm | Colour | Subtitled
Zozo grows up in Beirut in the mid-eighties. Despite the civil war raging around him, he leads a normal life with family and friends until tragedy strikes and he is left stranded on his own. His only option is to seek out his grandparents who have recently emigrated to the ‘distant paradise’ of Sweden. Unfortunately for Zozo, he is soon faced with the harsh reality that Sweden isn’t the welcoming arcadia his grandfather had led him to believe.
This highly personal (although not strictly autobiographical) film from Josef Fares (himself a first-generation Lebanese immigrant to Sweden) paints an honest and emotionally charged portrait of youthful hopes and fears, and imaginitively engages with broader themes of racism and alienation.
Scenes of high realism are juxtaposed with moments of magical realism as Zozo’s anxieties find their expression in a parallel reality. Directed with style and a sense of humour, characters are wonderfully depicted and, in Zozo’s grandfather, a warm portrait of a loving, irascible fantasist is evoked. |
