Let’s start with Zain (Zain Al Rafeea), a 12-year-old growing up in the slums of Beirut. Wait, did you think Zain was the child in peril here? It’s a remarkably humanist story, although the set-up is a bit of a bait-and-switch. Labaki drew many of the story’s elements from real life, including her pint-sized star; the real Zain is a Syrian refugee who had never acted before, and now lives in Norway. And while Zain shows remarkable street smarts, he is also clearly still a child, with a limited knowledge of how the larger world works.

Source: National Post January 10, 2019 20:03 UTC