Haifaa al-Mansour’s 2012 film Wadjda was not only the the first ever film to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, but was also the first feature by a female Saudi director. The film told the story of a 10 year old girl who enters a Koran-reading competition so she can buy a bike with the prize money.
After a handful of English language projects, including her Mary Shelley biopic in 2017 and Nappily Ever After for Netflix a year later, Al-Mansour has now returned to her native Saudi with her latest film The Perfect Candidate. The film was Saudi Arabia’s official submission for the 2020 Oscars in the Best International Film category and tells the story of a small-town female doctor who stands for local election to help her community.
Mila al-Zahrani is Maryam, a young doctor working in at a small Saudi hospital. Despite being one of only two doctors in the building, Maryam is constantly belittled by older male patients who prefer to be treated by male nurses rather than be touched by her. Exasperated and at the end of her tether, Maryam sees an upcoming conference in Dubai as a chance for her to find a new job away from the constraints of her home country.
With her widowed musician father away on tour, Maryam discovers that her travel permit has expired and is unable to renew it without a male relative present by her side. Enraged by this injustice, the young woman finds herself accidentally standing for local election partly as a protest, but also in the hope of forcing the local municipality to finally fix the road leading to the hospital where she works.
Al-Mansour and co-writer Brad Niemann present a robustly acted and hugely watchable social drama which isn’t afraid of broaching subjects still regarded as taboo in a country where, despite recent advancements, women are still largely underrepresented. Perhaps the most admirable thing about Al-Mansour’s approach here is that she isn’t beyond relying on artifice and melodrama to advance the story.
While Maryam is offered as someone ferociously modern and determined to overthrow the patriarchy by any means necessary, Al-Mansour is also careful not to present an unrealistic denouement to her plight. Instead, we are given the chance to explore the in and outs of a society which is forever moving forward. Far from presenting a completely pessimistic view of the current situation, The Perfect Candidate offers a glimmer of hope that change requires a whole society to move together in the right direction.
The Perfect Candidate’s main strength resides in the universal appeal of its message. This is a real return to form for Al-Mansour who is clearly in her element with these sorts of narratives.
The Perfect Candidate is available to stream now from Curzon Home Cinema and BFI Player
