Casablanca Beats
Kino Lorber | Release Date: September 16, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
CineVueJohn BleasdaleJul 29, 2021
There’s no revolutionary moment of success in which the meanies are ousted and hip-hop declared godly. Music is like education in this: it’s all about the movement, not the destination. Read full review
60
EmpireJake CunninghamApr 29, 2022
Casablanca Beats hits a lot of clichés on the educational-drama cue sheet, but still manages to find bracing new variations on the formula. The lesson plan is familiar, but it’s still worth attending this school of rap. Read full review
60
Little White LiesMarina AshiotiApr 29, 2022
Ayouch means well, interpreting the teens’ connection to rap music as emblematic of a rebellious spirit, yet deeper discussions on other social issues – politics, women’s rights, religion – are unfortunately reduced to mere sources of frustration, either ending abruptly or remaining incomplete. Read full review
60
NMENick LevineApr 29, 2022
The film’s emotional beats don’t hit as hard as its musical ones. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeJul 16, 2021
It is a film which celebrates empowerment and the exhilarating release of finding a voice and being heard. Read full review
80
SlashfilmJason GorberJul 16, 2021
Casablanca Beats drums its ideas loudly and effectively. The result is a boisterous and crowd-pleasing delight, showing a community with deep specificity that nonetheless speaks to the concerns of young people all over the world. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan MeccaSep 20, 2022
Ayouch’s aesthetic is natural, the performances he gets from his actors true. It’s no small feat to get kids acting like kids onscreen. The musical breaks and classroom discussions are both engaging and provocative. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 16, 2021
It is all presented earnestly and engagingly, though self consciously, and if the political debates are unsolved, well, that could be because they are unsolved in real life. It’s certainly a heartening demonstration that new ideas can flourish in a religious society. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungJul 16, 2021
Ayouch’s most personal feature film, it infects the audience with its passion and the unshakable belief that a person who has self-confidence and self-expression can really change society. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyApr 29, 2022
Taking cues from the lively cast, Nabil Ayouch’s third feature to make it to Cannes is scrappy, occasionally messy, prone to distractions, and never less than diverting. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAustin ConsidineSep 15, 2022
Hip-hop isn’t dead, the film energetically insists; it’s just been hiding in a Moroccan slum. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJul 16, 2021
Casablanca Beats just about gets by on restless teenage energy and its bustle of winning young faces. But it’s a new arrangement of a very familiar old song. Read full review
80
TheWrapBen CrollJul 16, 2021
Casablanca Beats argues that the power of personal expression can turn the world on its head. And for a good spell, the film does just that. Read full review
70
VarietyJessica KiangJul 16, 2021
It’s perhaps a little glib to make a choral event of a hip-hop musical when hip-hop is so much a medium for individual creative expression — for a single voice to speak its truth — but it’s hard to argue when the results are this energetic, this empowering and this irresistibly youthful. Read full review
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