X
- 2013
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
- 2013
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
Summary An enterprising Saudi girl signs up for her school's Koran recitation competition in hopes of raising the remaining funds she needs to buy a green bicycle she desperately wants.
Directed By: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Written By: Haifaa Al-Mansour
- 2013
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
- 2013
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
Wadjda
7.2
Where to Watch
Summary An enterprising Saudi girl signs up for her school's Koran recitation competition in hopes of raising the remaining funds she needs to buy a green bicycle she desperately wants.
Directed By: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Written By: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
81
96% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
81
96% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Al-Mansour has managed to embue Wadjda with a hopeful spirit, partially because she takes time to show women finding ways to be themselves in private moments. And partially because she suggests with a few subtle touches that the situation might be slowly improving.
It’s a stunningly assured debut, a slyly subversive delight, and one of my favorite movies of the year so far.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 56 User Ratings
7.2
79% Positive
44 Ratings
44 Ratings
9% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
13% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 56 User Ratings
7.2
79% Positive
44 Ratings
44 Ratings
9% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
13% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
''Wadjda'' one of my favorite movies of the last year!
The story maybe sounds simple, but the really good develop, makes the film very interesting. The performance of the little girl it's amazing, and the script it's excellent.
Definitely, one of the most interesting movies of the last year.
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The world of cinema is richer for the voice of Al Mansour; she speaks for the women of her country, and for people everywhere.
Al Mansour is too smart to overdo the symbolic spin, but the thrust of her film, toward the end, could hardly be more urgent. [16 Sept. 2013, p. 72]
Al-Mansour carefully dodges easy uplift, but her message of hope to future generations of Saudi women is clear.
If Wadjda, this Muslim girl, calls up film memories of adolescent Marjane Satrapi in "Persepolis", whose Western-loving lifestyle is uprooted by Iran’s Islamic Revolution, or the young women in Jafar Panahi’s "Offside," who countermand the rules that forbid them from entering stadiums to watch men’s soccer matches, you wouldn’t be far off the mark.
It doesn't play like reality, but like boilerplate filmic fantasy, and its novel setting and inception struggles seem positioned as a beard--or veil, if you will--to mask its mediocrity.
Right away we sympathize with Wadjda, is certainly a sensational character, her tomboyish way is charming, taking into account their culture and religion in which many things are restricted to women, we see a little girl in search of what craves it's nothing unless the simple joy of cycling.
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I finally saw this film on video, and it knocked me out. Both the 10-year old heroine and her mother are very sympathetic. Like many Iranian films, it has a simple plot but portrays down-to-earth people and a glimpse of a relatively closed society. Kudos for the female filmmaker who braved many difficulties to film this in Saudi Arabia.
Report
Wow, a movie made with heart for the heart.
It's a very simple plot but extremely beautiful, the main character, Wadjda, stole your heart from the beginning.
Definitely a movie that everybody should watch and feel.
I love it.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Production Company
Razor Film Produktion GmbH,
Highlook Communications Group,
Rotana Film Production,
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR),
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR),
Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA),
Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM),
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg,
ILB Investitionsbank desLandes Brandenburg,
Sundance Feature Film Program,
Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art,
Dubai Entertainment and Media Organization,
Enjaaz,
RAWI - Middle East Screenwriter's Lab,
Abu Dhabi Film Commission,
Hubert Bals Fund,
Dubai Media and Entertainment Organisation in association with Dubai Film Market (Enjaaz)
Release Date Sep 13, 2013
Duration 1 h 38 m
Rating PG
Awards
Women Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Venice Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 4 Nominations
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
