All in all, the best about Casablanca Beats is its earnest simplicity and belief in the story it tells. [Full review in Spanish]

| Dec 27, 2022

A story with a simple plot... that mutates into a rap musical. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 20, 2022

One may recall staples like School Daze or Dead Poets Society in different moments, which is meant more as a compliment than some reductive comparison.

| Original Score: B | Sep 20, 2022

Casablanca Beats never truly develops as either an examination of rap or as a wider portrait of these people united in an attempt to disrupt the conservative culture.

| Sep 19, 2022

Once you dig beneath the familiarity of its setup, this Moroccan coming-of-age drama is a powerful exploration of empowerment and artistic expression through a unique sociocultural lens.

| Sep 16, 2022

Hip-hop isn’t dead, the film energetically insists; it’s just been hiding in a Moroccan slum.

| Sep 15, 2022

A powerful, genuinely heartfelt and inspirational testament to the healing power of art.

| Sep 13, 2022

The teenagers’ thoughts on the matters that shape their lives — including sexism and religion — are invigorating. They are conveyed through ardent conversations as well as hip-hop.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 24, 2022

The film's improvisational style suggests that these kids are thinking and acting in real-time, most notably in an extended scene where the class feels comfortable enough to be open for an honest conversation about what's really going on in their lives.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 15, 2022

Like its lead, Casablanca Beats is an unassuming film that does a lot with relatively meagre resources. In treating hip hop as an art form rather than cultural currency, Ayouch creates a new and interesting way of celebrating his roots.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 6, 2022

Casablanca Beats celebrates empowerment and the exhilarating release of finding a voice and being heard.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 5, 2022

Even if the structure of the story is not particularly unique, the setting and cultural baggage that it brings to the template give this an uncommon edge.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 4, 2022

A charge of electricity runs through this film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 4, 2022

[A] vivid musical drama...

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 2, 2022

Has an infectious energy that pulls us into the ever-changing worlds of its characters. Crucially, it does so in a manner that is both enticing and accessible...

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 1, 2022

The lesson plan is familiar, but it’s still worth attending this school of rap.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 29, 2022

The arts centre is a real-life institution that Ayouch founded in 2014. Basbousi has worked there for years. The pair know what they’re talking about and it’s a pure pleasure to watch and learn.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 29, 2022

It’s smartly done, if a bit on-the-nose.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 29, 2022

The film’s saving grace... is the cast of non-professional teenagers playing fictionalised versions of themselves.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 28, 2022

It’s a tried and tested formula, but with the cast all playing fictionalised versions of themselves it feels as if there’s more at stake here than in the average Fame knock-off.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 27, 2022