In 1999, in the old medina of Casablanca in Morocco, a young man Malek fascinated by the lute, decides to move in with his uncle Amir. To teach him the subtleties of the lute, Amir, the master of music, promises him to reveal him the secret of the fifth string and gives him the example of Ziryab, an exceptional musician. But very soon Amir realizes the talent of his nephew and can't bear it. During his education, Malek meets Laura, a young musician, who gives him the sufficient energy to pursue his dream
This film, the first in what has become a semi-autobiographical trilogy for Smihi, follows the everyday experiences of Mohamed-Larbi Salmi against the changing Moroccan society. In 1950s Tangier, Larbi Salmi is a young, timid, pre-teen, boy, trying to make sense of the gentle religious upbringing of his father, the secular education offered him in French school, and his budding desires for the forbidden pleasures of the cinema and the women he meets through it.
