Jalla! Jalla!

Jalla! Jalla! is the début film by one of the great new talents of Swedish film, Josef Fares, who is only 23. He has made a charming comedy in which love, sex and cultural differences play leading roles and with which he wants to make his audience happy, as he puts it.Måns and Roro are in their twenties and best friends. They both work for the parks department. Roro, played by the director’s brother, is of Arab origin and, without his parents knowing, has a Swedish girlfriend. He has been planning to introduce her to his family for a long time, but doesn’t get round to it. Just when he is ready to, the family has arranged a marriage for him. They want him to marry a Lebanese-Swedish girl, who doesn’t want to either. Yet they make a pact, because otherwise she is in danger of being sent back to Lebanon. Måns also has his problems. For instance he can’t get his rope to rise, despite a variety of aids.Jalla! Jalla!, that in Arab means something like Hurry up! Or Come on!, is characterised by its youthful pace. The `chases’ have been set with visible pleasure and the charming cast (including the director’s father) fits in seamlessly with the light-hearted approach to the subject: love in times of integration.