Rough Hands

Mustafa is a go-to man in Casablanca. With his Groucho Marx eyebrows, handlebar mustache, and smiling demeanor, he navigates tricky channels of bureaucracy with grace and style. Mustafa is an illiterate barber who trims the hair of retired cabinet ministers and government bigwigs. His access to Morocco's elites allows him to make a tidy living forging documents and conducting other underground “business.” One of his clients is Zakia, a pretty teacher whose fiancé is waiting for her in Spain. The Spaniards are hiring Moroccan women laborers, and Zakia hopes to emigrate by masking her education and acquiring false papers showing she's a farm worker. Meanwhile, Mustafa's assistant Said is informing on him to a government boss. The rhythms of Moroccan life pulse through ROUGH HANDS: as the sun rises and sets over ancient rooftops filled with caged songbirds, streets below are clogged with stinking traffic; people barter to get by and people plot to escape from the country. The film's charming use of zither music anchors modern Casablanca in its traditions. (In Arabic with subtitles) – B.B.