Wadjda (2012) Reviews

• How to watch a Saudi film directed by a Saudi Female in Saudi Arabia

  r-chloes2013-06-28

  Being a Saudi girl myself I didn't know what to expect, but honestly it was quiet good. The way they portrayed how it goes behind the closed doors of girls schools was so real, like I saw my whole life flashing in front of me: You have to cover your face, you have to wear fully covered Abaya... etc, etc. Funny thing that most of you know by now that we don't have public theaters here, so I was lucky to hear about the screening in the U.S embassy with the presence of the director Haifa AlMansour. it was a once in a lifetime experience: I watched a Saudi movie directed by Saudi female director with a Saudi audience in Home but not quiet home. That kind of thing only happens in this side of the world. I really believe that the story portrayed everything well and fair, there were a lot of good laughs. Good job Haifa: I was lucky enough to tell her that be person. Now Go and make the rest of us proud.

  More

• A complex story told simply and well

  PoppyTransfusion2012-10-13

  The director Haifaa Al-Mansour tells the tale of a child called Wadjda whose wish is to have her own bicycle so that she might race against her friend and neighbour Abeer. The only problem is that Wadjda is a girl and girls in Saudi society do not ride bikes, which are considered "boys' toys" ... As we follow Wadjda in her quest to find the money to purchase the bicycle she sees being delivered on the roof of a van, we are introduced to her society and its culture and, in particular, its treatment of girls and women. Al-Mansour's portrayal of her country is shown without heavy judgement, although the bitter sweetness of being female is not concealed. Filmed on location in Saudi Arabia, a feat in itself in a country that does not have a film industry as films are considered sinful, Wadjda's desire represents the wish for female freedom; her lack of a bicycle is mirrored in the adult women's inability to drive, prohibited for women in Saudi Arabia, and the problems this creates for them. So the child's desire to ride a bike becomes a metaphor for freedom, which is the central theme in the film. This is a subtle tale full of character, charm and complexities and not at all as one might expect. The young girl who carries the film, Waad Mohammed, is terrific and it is hard to believe that she was not an actress before appearing in this feature. Does Wadjda achieve her desire and get her bike? Is she able to race it along the dusty roads as free as her friend Abeer and the other boys? Well, you will have to watch the film for the answers and in watching the film will support the director and the nascent film industry emerging from within Saudi Arabia.

  More

• A fantastic film contribution from Saudi Arabia.

  finalfantasy_gc2013-10-16

  This film gives us a unique glimpse into a society we know very little about. The story might seem simple at first but as we are witnessing the events unfolding we notice that the story is a lot deeper than that. Underneath the surface of a standard modern society we see how women have to cope in this patriarchal restrictive society. Despite the absurdities that women face every day we can still relate to the characters and the themes in this film. What makes this film so good is how it tells us a story of how people live their lives through the experiences of a little girl. Where dreams can still be realized despite how oppressive things can be. While a sense of optimism always lingering in the background with a healthy dose of humour. A rare but curious journey into a society that seems so different than ours. The director did a great job at telling the everyday story about the Saudi Arabian people without any bias or obvious political agenda. All through the perspective of a charismatic young little girl who just wants a green bicycle. It is good to see films use similar themes but from a different perspective. The film industry is too clouded with uncreativity. I hope this film experience is not the last great adventure from Saudi Arabia.

  More

• My hero

  cinematic_aficionado2013-07-25

  One thing that makes this movie stands out is the fact that it is entirely based in Saudi Arabia. Regardless what one thinks of that country, be that knowledge or just stereotyping, it has a culture that is very different than that of what the western audience is accustomed to. So he have a heroine who is your typical rebel teenage girl, who has realised that being a woman can be challenging and she therefore must give her fight to survive. The story revolves around an utterly sinful desire this young revolver has: to buy and ride a bicycle. To go about that, she must overcome her mum's objections, the shopkeeper's and pretty much everyone she is acquainted with. Unprepared to simply accept fate, she is prepared to do whatever it takes to ride that bicycle. Quirky and witty, this is a delight and one should not allow any preconceived notions of Arabic culture to stand in the way of enjoying this pleasurable debut. Wadjda is a hero in any culture.

  More

• Wadjda will win you over too

  Horst_In_Translation2013-09-14

  In a year where Quvenzhané Wallis became one of youngest Oscar nominees of all time, there's still at least 2 other lead performances by very young girls that deserve an equal amount of recognition. One is Onata Aprile in "What Maisie Knew". The other is Waad Mohammed in "Wadjda". The existence and quality of the latter film is quite a miracle. It premiered in Venice last year, where the director and lead actress had a bike with them on the red carpet, and, since then won quite an impressive collection of honors from festivals all over the planet. The movie industry in Saudi-Arabia is practically non-existent to this day, so the creation and shooting of the film ran permanently into obstacles, especially as it's the first Saudi-Arabian movie ever filmed by a woman, but the final result is definitely worth all the hassle. I'm happy to see that just a day ago or two, this film got the honor of being the very first film from Saudi-Arabia that got submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and will compete for the foreign language Oscar in about 6 months from now. In the center of it, we have Waad Mohammed playing a headstrong little girl named Wadjda. We see her everyday-life at an all-girls school and at home with her mother, whose approach to life clearly seems to have rubbed off on her. Haifaa Al-Mansour depicts the life of females in Saudi-Arabia in a very compelling manner. The best thing about the film is that all the examples of discrimination and misogyny are either very subtle or in a manner that isn't remotely instigative or in the viewer's face at all, for example in the scene where those girls that are on their period have to cover their hands before touching their Korans. But they are not shocked as a reaction, they're giggling just like kids would in this scenario. The director went for realism and quiet convincibility throughout the whole film, such as when Wadjda has her dream crushed towards the end we don't get to see a huge breakdown or tears, but instead she stands there suffering quietly, which is as least as sad to watch. In addition to those parts relevant to current society issues in Saudi-Arabia, the film is also genuinely funny on lots of parts. The ways in which Wadjda tries to get together the money in order to realize her dream of getting that beautiful green bike are a riot and so are her conversations with her mother and her friend Abdullah. It's simply impossible to resist her and her highly-infectious smile and that goes for everybody in the cinema audience as well as everybody she interacts with in the film. I recommend this film very much. It's an impressive result looking at the struggles during its shooting and the fact that literally none of the actors had any previous experience in the profession at all. Beyond Mohammed in the lead, we also get convincing portrayals of grown women by those actresses who play the mother and the headmistress.

  More