Wadjda

The fact that Wadjda was even made is almost a miracle. I read somewhere that this is the first feature film that was shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, a country that bans cinemas because they are considered a waste of time and corrupt. I guess they saw one too many M. Night Shamamalagan movies! First time director Haifaa Al-Mansour pulled off this feat in a place where women aren’t allowed to vote or even drive. In fact, if they show their face in public or even speak too loudly they are considered loose women. A Texas girl would have NO shot living there. So I figured that when I walked into this film there would be a ton of women there, probably foreign, to celebrate this achievement. And that they would all look at me with lust in their eyes because I was bold enough to see it by myself. Ha! This movie got the same reception that I’m sure it got in Saudi Arabia, an empty theater. Even the Mexican cleaning lady shook her head at me as I walked in because she knew what I was up to. Well everyone else missed out on a treat and I'm not talking about the fact that I tried to get the cleaning lady’s phone number after the show.

Wadjda is the story of a hustling little girl who is basically a fish out of water in this Islamic country. She wears Chuck Taylors, sells her homemade jewelry to classmates, plays video games, and listens to indie music (Grouplove); so essentially she’s a Muslim hipster. You get the feeling right off the bat that this girl is a representation of Al-Mansour and the experiences she had growing up as she is spunky, cute, and charming, similar to Al-Mansour. Her best friend happens to be a boy whose uncle has political power within country. As she is hanging out with him, she decides that she wants a bike like him and his friends have but in this country girls don’t ride bikes; it looked down upon. This doesn’t stop her as she begins to save up for it but quickly realizes that in order to realistically reach her goal, she must enter a Koran recital contest. At this point the movie becomes a slightly more serious version of Billy Madison. Ok, well maybe only at the end during the contest but it would’ve been awesome if they had a drinking penguin in the movie.

What’s great about this movie is, AL-Mansour simply tells the story of Wadjda and her day to day experiences in this country. From every interaction that she has with her principal, to the way her mom is treated by her father and even her driver, down to the disrespectful comments made by construction men, you can judge for yourself if this is simply a difference in cultures that should be accepted or if there is something fundamentally wrong over there. You instantly fall in love with Wadjda and wish the entire time that someone would just give the poor girl a damn Huffy! You will have plenty of moments when you laugh, cheer, and maybe even cry as this movie takes you through the full gamut of emotions.

I rate this movie as FRESH and suggest that you try and get laid after seeing it. If nothing else, do it to give poor Al-Mansour some money as I am sure the government has put a religious hit out on her after this film’s release (my friend’s joke).