From: Bangladesh, Asia Watch: Trailer, Vimeo, IMDb Next: American Factory, Salt of the Earth, I, Daniel BlakeContinue reading “Made in Bangladesh – Standing Up to Factory Owners”
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.
Who said you can’t learn from film? Show them this documentary, and I guarantee you’ll know more about Iran by the time the credits appear.
From: Iran, AsiaContinue reading “Divorce: Iranian Style – Battle of the Sexes”
Watch: Trailer, Watch on YouTube, Buy on Amazon
Next: Divorce: Italian Style, Beauty and the Dogs, Flesh Out
You might have seen Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now but how many female fronted war films have you seen? Flame follows two young women who leave their rural village to join the Zimbabwean fight for liberation. However, their fight isn’t just for an independent Zimbabwe free from colonial influence, but also a fight for female liberation from the abuse and subjugation of the patriarchy.
From: Zimbabwe, AfricaContinue reading “Flame – Two Girls Fighting for Equality and Independence”
Watch: YouTube, Kanopy, Rent on Vimeo
Next: Lucia, War Witch, Battle of Algiers
Uski Roti is the antithesis of your typical Bollywood film. Instead of bombastic musical numbers and extravagant costumes and decor, Uski Roti‘s rural setting is banal and empty. There’s minimal action as the characters are plagued by having too much time; the wife occupies herself with domestic work and waiting, whilst the husband kills time busing around the country spending time with different lovers to keep from boredom. Both characters seem compelled to live out of a duty rather than because of their own happiness which is reflected in the slow pace of the film. For those with patience, Uski Roti is a portrait of the downtrodden of the world – those condemned by poverty and the patriarchy to a life of nothingness.
From: India, Asia Watch: Trailer, JustWatch, IMDb Next: When the Tenth Month Comes, Daughter in Law, The Cow
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