Filmmakers and Saudi Arabia are two groups that don’t see eye-to-eye. Add in the word “progress” to the mix and we are looking at absolute pandemonium. But somehow, against all odds, a film shot completely in Saudi Arabia back in 2012, manages to not only satisfy everyone involved, but it has gone on to earn a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the 2014 BAFTA Awards (deservingly). ‘Wadjda’ is the name of the film and it manages to be both enjoyable and progressive at the same time, by giving us a hopeful story in a harsh, real setting.
The film follows a rebellious 10-year-old girl, Wadjda, who lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dreams of owning her own bicycle, when her friend, Abdullah, races past her with one of his own. She finds a store that sells bicycles, and she asks the shopkeeper to hold the green bicycle for her till she earns the money to buy it. But she faces many issues – she doesn’t have the money, her bracelets & mix tapes are not selling fast enough and her mother doesn’t want to buy one since it is frowned upon for girls to ride bicycles. She doesn’t give up, however, and finds out that her school is planning to give SR 1000 to the winner of the Quran recital competition. So naturally, she enters it… without knowing how to read and recite the tough verses.
This movie beautifully balances the harsh reality of a woman’s role in Saudi Arabia, while also being hopeful with its story-telling. It takes you through a whirlwind of emotions and situations – heart-wrenching, funny, facing reality, joyful and sad – keeping us thoroughly entertained through the narrative, and not through the sub-textual message. Unlike the in-your-face moral preaching films that have come out over the past decade, this movie does not ask the viewer to do anything other than to check out the story. Besides the story, the film itself is a sign of progress – with it setting two major records as soon as it premiered. ‘Wadjda’ is the first film that was shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and it is the first feature film to be made by a Saudi woman, Haifaa al-Mansour. She also wrote the screenplay and this was her directorial debut as well.
The Saudi Arabian film, ‘Wadjda’ is currently streaming on Netflix with English subtitles.
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