Zizou and the Arab Spring

Trying to combine a comedic tale with the Arab Spring uprising of 2011 across the Middle East doesn’t sound like a particularly plausible cinematic undertaking. But somehow director Férid Boughedir imaginatively brings these seemingly oil and water elements together to make a successful comedy that is also a thought-provoking socio-historical look at the driving forces behind the Arab Spring from a Tunisian perspective. The story follows Zizou (Zied Ayadi), a jobless young drifter who migrates from a bleak windswept town to the big city of Tunis to try to secure some sort of economically viable future for himself. His attempts at gaining employment eventually lead him to a job installing satellite dishes. And through this line of work he finds himself in more than a few offbeat situations. But his life really changes when he manages to obtain a girlfriend. Little does Zizou know, however, that this relationship will lead him to a front-row seat at the soon-to-be fiery uprisings taking place in Tunis and all across the Arab world. Through the oddball meandering character of Zizou, Boughedir effectively shows how social upheaval can sweep up everything in its path, even the most reluctant, apathetic, or apolitical people, charting one man’s microcosmic political awakening within the macrocosm of an entire region dealing with the growing pains of nascent democratic change. Highly recommended. (M. Sandlin)