Wadjda: The little rebel!

Wadjda is the first film from Saudi Arabia to be nominated for Oscars award this year. It is the official entry in the Best Foreign Film Category. The film should be called a bold attempt given the Saudi Arabian conservative circumstances.

Director: Hafeesa al-Mansour

Film Clip

The film is about Wadjda, an 11-year old girl, whose life desire is to buy a cycle for herself. It is near impossible for a girl to ride cycles in Saudi Arabia, given the religious patriarchy. But Wadjda is little bit of a rebel and wants to get it at any cost. In depicting Wadjda’s pursuit to buy a cycle, the director brilliantly presents before us different facets of a Saudi woman. Wadjda’s mother has her own daily anxieties to deal with. Her husband is out to marry another woman, and sadly, she has no control over it. Then there is the over-disciplinary and ultra conservative school headmistress who seems to have internalised the Islamic conservatism to perfection. While the director Haifaa al-Mansour suggests that it is only women who can liberate women, she also seems to send across a message that women can at times be the biggest hurdles on the way of their own liberation.

The story of the film is seen through the eyes of the protagonist Wadjda, played sensitively by the highly talented Waad Mohammed. The typical Middle-Eastern music adds colour to the narration. What makes this film important is the context in which it is narrated. Women have been fighting hard in Saudi Arabia to drive cars on the roads. The Muslim clergy is yet to be reconciled with such a demand. But, women are violating all ‘norms’ and are driving their private vehicles. This ‘revolt’ is symbolic of the greater freedom that Saudi women are demanding. Wadjda , incidentally, makes a similar, yet bold, statement en route to women’s liberation.

- Melwyn Pinto SJ