Directed by: Haifaa Al-Mansour.
Written by: Haifaa Al-Mansour.
Starring: Reem Abdullah (Mother), Waad Mohammed (Wadjda), Abdullrahman Al Gohani (Abdullah), Ahd Kamel (Ms. Hussa), Sultan Al Assaf (Father).
The
fact that a film like Wadjda exists at all should be cause for celebration.
Movie theaters are banned in Saudi Arabia, and women are still banned from
doing pretty much anything unless they are accompanied by a man. And yet, somehow
Haifaa Al-Mansour, a woman, was able to write and direct a feature film in
Saudi Arabia, about a smart little girl, who wants to do things that a “proper”
young girl in Saudi Arabia would not want to do. While the movie has caused
controversy in Saudi Arabia, the country also selected it as their first
submission ever for the Foreign Language Film Oscar. It may be a very small
step – representing very little progress – but it’s something.
The
film stars young Waad Mohammed as Wadjda – a girl of around 11 who more than
anything in the world wants a shiny new bike, so she can ride around with her
best friend Abdullah (Abdullrahman Al Gohani). Proper young women do not ride
bikes, but Wadjda doesn’t care. She already angers Ms. Hussa (Ahd Kamel), the headmistress
at her school, because she doesn’t wear the proper head gear, or shoes, and
doesn’t immediately hide herself away while playing when two men start working
on a rooftop nearby, meaning – shock – that they could see the little girls
playing. There is going to be a Qur’an contest at the school – and top prize in
1,000 Riel – enough to buy the bike of her dreams – so she fakes turning over a
new leaf and says that she would like to join Religion Club to prepare for the
contest.
Wadjda
also has a complicated home life. Her mother works as a nurse, but only when
she can get to the hospital – which she cannot do if their demeaning driver
refuses to show up for work – which he does on some days. Her father (Sultan Al
Assaf) leaves for days or weeks on end, and her mother (Reem Abdullah) has
heard that her mother-in-law is trying to fix him up with a new wife – one that
will give him a son, instead of just a daughter. When Wadjda sees her father’s
family tree – and realizes that she isn’t on it, she adds a leaf herself – only
to later find it crumpled on the floor. While outwardly, her father is kind to
both her mother and Wadjda, it’s also quite clear that he values Wadjda less
because she’s a girl, and not a boy.
The
film balances between its neo-realist influences, and a more trying to put a
brighter face on this story, which could have been a whole lot darker. Given
the way Al-Mansour shoots, and the story that revolves around a bike, it’s hard
not to think about Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves – which is clearly an
influence. While Wadjda is definitely critical of Saudi society’s treatment of
women, it doesn’t get bogged down in darkness, or play like a sermon. Instead,
it makes its points against the treatment of women subtly, and then moves on. The
fact that Al-Mansour essentially crafts a feel-good movie out of this story,
which one suspects may be darker if it happened in real life, allows her to get
away with a little bit more criticism than she may otherwise have been able to
do. That may seem like Al-Mansour is soft-pedaling her message a little bit –
which isn’t exactly untrue – but keep in mind she had to direct all of the
outside scenes in the movie from inside a van – so she wouldn’t be seen by
others bossing around men. Wadjda may be a small step in the right direction –
but it’s still a step.
I
found it impossible not to be won over by Wadjda. The movie is charming and
funny, but also has a message – one that I think is important. In the West, we
may be shocked with how women are treated in some parts of the world – I love
my two-year daughter more than anything in the world – but that’s not true
everywhere. Wadjda is not a great movie – it is a little too simplistic than
that – but it’s an important one.
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