middle east

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Saudi Runaway – Sundance Film Festival 2020

Despite reforms from MBS, the current ruler of Saudi Arabia, 1,000 women escape Saudi Arabia each year. Saudi Runaway follows Muna, a typical Saudi Arabian woman trying to make herself one of the 1,000 to escape the oppressive patriarchy. All the footage is shot on her phone camera, often in secret from under her hijab, to document a snippet of her life.

Muna gains our trust right from the start by showing us things we shouldn’t see. She takes us into the crowds of the Hajj pilgrimage circling the Kaaba by capturing the crowds from a phone camera hidden under her veil. She also documents her family secretly in prayer and the patriarchal words her family and fiance say without realizing they’re being filmed. From these secretive observational moments we can start to build a picture of the society and family she lives in and its restrictiveness. We can also feel the risk she’s taking in secretively filming her family. She obviously hasn’t told them about the film as all they’re faces are blurred. Because of the risks she takes and secretive shots she has shared with us, she immediately gains out trust and empathy.

The film strengthens our connection with Muna through a series of video diary entries in which she shares experiences from her life and plans her escape. We hear about the patriarchal oppression she faces: how her husband won’t let her drive and how she can’t go to the supermarket or leave the house without a man. We also hear about her slim chance for escape: she cannot leave the country without a man’s permission in Saudi Arabia, so she has to get married before attempting an escape in the UAE whilst she’s on her honeymoon. Amazingly, she captures all of the tension of her ordeal, even taking a minute to document her final thoughts before she attempts her escape.

The only fault I could give this exciting documentary is the touch of melodrama the European director adds to the raw footage from Muna. In some of the tense moments, the soundtrack feels like it’s emphasizing the emotions more than it needs to. It makes the film feel ‘more produced’ and therefore less intimate and trustworthy by taking away from the realness of the first hand footage shot by Muna. The ‘dear Sue’ addresses in Muna’s video diary also make the film feel more like an act, by recognizing the foreign hand in its creation.

Overall, Saudi Runaway is a documentary that any fans of escape documentaries (see Midnight Traveller) or viewers interested at an inside look of Saudi Arabia should watch.

Head to our Sundance Film Festival Hub for more reviews from the Sundance Film Festival 2020.

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Lebanon Factory – A Kaleidoscopic View of Lebanon

Lebanon Factory Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

How much do you know about Lebanon? Lebanon Factory will give you a taster of life across the country. From Beirut to the Lebanese countryside watching this film is your cheap ticket to seeing Lebanon.

Image result for the lebanon factory film

Why Watch The Lebanon Factory?
  • To experience Lebanon from a collection of 4 different perspectives in 4 short films
  • See what kind of films are made by pairs of native and foreign directors (each of these 4 films were made by pairs of directors – one from Lebanon and another from elsewhere)
  • For an Octupus cruelty scene that matches that famous one in Oldboy
The Breakdown

Lebanon Factory is made up of 4 short films. First up was a dark comedy featuring a rookie cop on his first shift under a bridge late at night. It doesn’t look like an area you’d pick to hang out. There’s some shady deals going on between motorbike owners, there’s a few gang members, and one old man that keeps jumping off the bridge (unsuccessfully trying to commit suicide).

The next three films were about a conman, a group of guys trying to emigrate to the EU, and a crazy middle aged man living in rural Lebanon. It’s a good mix of films and will give you a bit of a feel for life in Lebanon.

Although each film was made by different directors, there are still a few things in common with the four movies. Firstly, you’ll notice the stubbornness and loudness of the main characters. Secondly you’ll also see that most of the characters hate Lebanon and their lives. This is reflected in the old man that keeps jumping off the bridge and cursing God and the country when he survives. In the other films there’s the guys trying to emigrate and also the hotel owner that curses the bigger hotel owner that is destroying his hotel.

Conclusion

Through the four short stories you get an idea of life in Lebanon. There’s a lot of passion, but not the romantic passion you’ll see in Hollywood movies. But even though the characters are not enjoying life in Lebanon there’s obviously a lot of life in the country.