The Perfect Candidate

“Cinematically, it didn’t feel to me like there was a lot going on here. Instead, it’s a fairly straightforward family drama that exists within the context of a culture that, like many families, fiercely resists change. 3 cats”

Michael says: “We don’t get to see a lot of films from Saudi Arabia, much less films directed by women. It’s difficult for westerners to know what life is like in that country, especially when it seems life there is in a major state of flux lately, with women gaining more rights every year. In fact, some of the limitations women faced have evolved since filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour made THE PERFECT CANDIDATE. Al-Mansour became the first woman to direct a feature film in Saudi Arabia in 2012 with her debut, WADJDA, which told the story of a young girl enters a competition involving reading the Koran to win the prize and buy a bicycle. A bicycle would give her some level of liberation, and now, six or seven years later, while making THE PERFECT CANDIDATE, women have earned the right to drive. The film’s main character, Maryam, recently bought a sporty, blue car (almost all of the other cars seen on the roads are white or silver) and she is seen driving it in mammy scenes. Yet Maryam still faces many of the limitations her gender faces in modern day Saudi Arabia. Although she is a doctor, she must endure the disgust of many older, male patients who refuse to have her touch them, or even look them in the eye, and would rather a man, even an unqualified man, treat them when injured. Then there are the lesser, but just as dismissive comments made my her colleagues of both genders, who just accept things the way they are. In the catalyst situation for the film, Maryam seeks to travel to a medical conference in Dubai to interview for a position at a more progressive hospital, only to be denied when her travel papers are not in order, and her father is unavailable to help renew them. At the time, women could only travel by the grace of a male sponsor (that rule has been appealed in 2019). In an attempt to get help from a relative in an administrative government position, Maryam signs up to run for Municipal Council in her town, an action that changes her life and opens her up to possibilities she never thought possible.

“Maryam’s evolution is interesting to watch. In the beginning, she is shown enjoying the new freedom of owning a car, and the frustration of being a doctor who some do not want to be treated by, yet she is still conservative enough to wear her habib and naqib in public, covering all over her head save her eyes. (It’s interesting to watch Maryam have to explain who she is even to some relatives since all they can see are her eyes!) When she finds her self inadvertently running for Municipal Council (much to the embarrassment of her younger sister, and the amusement of her older sister) she runs on one platform, and one platform only. The road leading to her clinic is a muddy, rutted mess due to a burst pipe. Patients on gurneys, or wheelchairs must be slogged through the mud making their arrival treacherous. Maryam campaigns to get that road fixed. But as her campaign evolves, first with a video modeled after a local gubernatorial candidate in Tennessee that she sees on YouTube, then at a fundraiser for women only, many of whom don’t bother voting, even though they admire what she is doing, to appearing on television, where the interviewer assumes that as a women, she is only interested in gardens and green space, and making their town more beautiful, she finds that she has opinions on many issues, and that in fact, she is the perfect candidate in this changing society.

“There is a lot going on in this fairly straight-forward film. Maryam’s older sister, is a videographer of weddings, and it’s fascinating to see how the genders are segregated even during the wedding reception, allowing the women to celebrate in a much more relaxed manner, until the groom arrives and the genders mis. Her father clearly loves his daughters, and rolls his eyes at Maryam’s ‘antics,’ but is consumed with his own dreams. There is an undercurrent of complex grief behind some of the characters’ actions, their missing mother/wife quietly evident despite being rarely mentioned. Possibly even a love interest, which in a less interesting films would have seemed inevitable, while in al-Manour’s hands, just seems like a possibility.

“The more I think of it, the more I enjoyed THE PERFECT CANDIDATE. Al-Mansour’s deceptively direct directorial style allows for lots of subtle messages to be interweaved throughout the film. While it’s clear this film is about gender parity in a culture that is still far from that. the family dynamics, the impact of grief, and the development of character are all nicely interwoven. Mila Al-Zahrani does a lovely job as Maryam, as she goes from matter-of-fact to groundbreaking over the course of the film. Dad Al-Hilali is terrifically fun as her sister Selma, the most modern of the family, whose success as a wedding videographer and event planner is a nice nod to what women have been able to accomplish. And Kahlid Agdulraheed as their father is gentle, amusing, and single-minded himself, in his pursuit of what he needs, and is nice depiction of a man living between two poles of a changing world, and really just rolling with it all. It’s astounding that THE PERFECT CANDIDATE is a first role for all of them, and a further tribute to Al-Mansour’s talent as a director. 4 1/2 cats”

Diane says: “Brings to mind LITTLE WOMEN and Britney Spears’ court case: ‘Who is your guardian?’ a bureaucrat asks Doctor Maryam. While the cultural hallmarks are intriguing to American viewers, I wonder what impact this movie has in its own country. The lead actress lacks the charisma that the role deserves; the screenplay is bland. 3 cats”