Saudi Arabia has no movie theaters. Clerics oppose public screenings because they encourage mingling of the sexes. Small wonder that it has taken until 2013 to get Wadjda, the first feature shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. In a country where a film industry is virtually absent, this fact alone would make its existence commendable. However this is also the first feature-length picture made by a female Saudi. That makes it an extraordinary accomplishment even before a single frame is viewed. Although I’m happy to proclaim that the production is a laudatory achievement in its own right.
Wadjda is a 10-year-old Saudi girl from the capital city of Riyadh. She lives there with her mother (Reem Abdullah). She has a father (Sultan Al Assaf) as well, but her relationship with him is confusing. We grow to understand he is seeking a second wife, which is why he is seldom at home. Wadjda watches the boys ride their bikes in and around town. She yearns to own her own cycle. Every day on the way to school she passes by a store where she spies one beautiful new bike for sale. She longs to buy the expensive vehicle and race against her friend Abdullah, a boy from the neighborhood. This is Wadjda’s effort to raise the money.
Wadjda does more than just tell a compelling story. It is a cultural record. We learn women cannot vote, laugh outdoors, or even be seen by men unless covered. Women are pressured to wear a full-length black covering called an abaya. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving. Rights are dictated and defined by Sunni Islam and tribal customs. Yes, director Haifaa al-Mansour’s work is politically charged, but not in the way you think. It’s refreshingly subtle. It merely presents society without comment. The viewer is freely allowed to criticize or support what they see. To western audiences unfamiliar with such customs, they will seem intolerable, but the production surprisingly feels charming and light. Credit young actress Waad Mohammed who plays our titular heroine. She embodies sweetness and grace with just a smidge of tomboy. Needless to say, the idea of a little girl riding a bike is something frowned upon here as it is seen as detrimental to a girl’s virtue.
Writer-director Haifaa Al-Mansour does the impossible. She has produced a film in a country with no film industry to speak of. Add that she is female in a community where women are forbidden to publicly interact with unrelated men. Wadjda is fascinating because it does two things brilliantly. One, it offers a gripping narrative of a captivating character. Secondly it also serves as a document of Saudi society. The director even fashions a climactic Koran recital contest as an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter. We get an expert’s view from the inside. The presentation of culture was a real eye opener for this critic. The strict moral codes might be described as oppressive, yet the milieu never reads that way. Joyful, effervescent and uplifting, this is about the triumph of the human spirit. How one rebellious little girl deals with her innocent desire to simply own a bike. Saudis can still watch movies via satellite, DVD and video in the privacy of their own homes. Perhaps one day they will be able to see this in a cinema. You however don’t have that problem. Please exercise that right and see this film.
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