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.
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.