Written and directed by Moroccan filmmaker Mohamed Asli, and acted by a mainly non-professional cast, this accomplished debut feature intelligently explores the experiences of a trio of men who are toiling away for meagre wages in a busy Casablanca cafe. Despite being separated from their families and communities back in the countryside, these migrant workers refuse to give up on their dreams of a brighter future.

"Casablanca has made widows of Berber women," laments the pregnant Aicha (Leila El Ahyani) in a letter to her absent husband Said (Rachid El Hazmir). He has gone to work in the big city to save for his family's future, but the pressure mounts on their relationship; when she falls severely ill, he drops everything to journey back to their village. Meanwhile his colleague Ottman (Abdelaziz Essghyr) has learnt from his mother that his prize stallion might have to be sold to meet their debts. Another of the waiters, Ismail (Abdessamed Miftah El Kheir), is transfixed by a pair of expensive Chelsea boots in a shop window, which he's convinced will transform his life.

"A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON CASABLANCA"

Never ignoring the harsh realities of both the urban and rural worlds he depicts, Asli shows a welcome ability to move smoothly between different moods, balancing the story's tragic elements with playful touches: for example, he takes the time to follow Ismail in his comic efforts to avoid scuffing his shoes on a long, dusty walk to a building site. A camera strapped to the top of a moving bus presents us with a fresh perspective on Casablanca, whilst a brief flashback to a communal horse-back charge at a Berber wedding suggests that such traditions have become endangered by modern 'progress'.

It's a film where the male characters are perpetually in transit - swaying between the lines of traffic to deliver their cups of tea, making the lengthy bus trips to and from the city, and stoically trudging across the snow-bound fields to reach home.

In Arabic and Berber with English subtitles.