‘Wadjda’ enthralls German movie fans

Having been feted at festivals and movie premieres in Venice, London and Berlin, receiving this year’s Fritz Gerlich film award in Munich, and being tipped for a foreign language Oscar nomination, Saudi Arabian film director Haifaa Al-Mansour has already made movie history.
This week, “Wadjda”, the first feature length movie directed by a Saudi woman — titled “The Girl Called Wadjda” in German — tells the story of a small Saudi girl’s dream of owning a bicycle. Although it has been running in Britain since July, it came to German cinemas only this week, where the audiences received it with curiosity and anticipation.
Prior to its release, the film received huge and universal positive coverage in the European media, especially in Germany, which — through funding by several public TV channels — was a substantial partner in the production of the film. The Franco-German cultural TV channel Arte first presented news of the film in April as an insight into the unknown, because, despite its economic strength, Saudi Arabia and its culture remain unknown to much of Europe.
The main characters’ acting and the director’s ability to transport her audience into the routine of Saudi daily life impressed international critics.
With a 100 percent positive rating out of 20 reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes accumulator, the film’s critical reception has been near perfect.
The following comment by Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph is typical: “This is boundary-pushing cinema in all the best ways, and what a thrill it is to hear those boundaries creak.”
Haifaa Al-Mansour, 39, who lives with her US diplomat husband and two children in Bahrain, said that her goal was not to criticize anyone, but to show the reality of daily life in Saudi Arabia and the desire for change.
At this year’s Venice Film Festival, Al-Mansour attended with Waad Muhammad, who played the little girl with the green bicycle, and they were hailed as symbols of freedom. After the premiere, the audience gave the Saudi team a standing ovation.
“I respect my country, and I am not looking for confrontation,” said Al-Mansour, adding that she never wanted to live in exile.
“This movie has been in the media for the last few months and I am happy that something genuine on Saudi Arabia is presented,” says Dr. Guido Steinberg, an expert on Saudi Arabia at the think tank SWP — Stifftung Politik and Wissenschaft.
In an interview with Kinofenster, an online site for film discussion, Professor Ulrike Freitag, the head of the Center for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin who has researched in Saudi Arabia, said that the mother helping her daughter to buy the bicycle is symbol of the reform process in Saudi Arabia.
Miryam B., a 42-year old businesswoman, said after seeing the film: “I felt the rhythm of a woman living in Saudi Arabia. At first I thought this might be a documentary because very little action was happening but than I realized such is life there.”
Al-Mansour made her movie in unusual circumstances. Although she had government permission to make the film, she could not openly take part in the filming on the streets in Riyadh. Rather, she sat in the team’s production bus, giving orders thorough a walkie-talkie.
German media outlets usually do not report positively about Saudi Arabia, but Al-Mansour’s movie was an exception, appealing to the minds and hearts of the German public. “I have a Saudi friend, and after watching the movie I feel and understand her struggle,” said Tina B. 39 after seeing the premiere.

A report on the Bavarian radio station Bayrischer Rundfunk said the film conveyed that Saudi women have the power to change things.
The leading weekly magazine Stern said that Al-Mansour has paved the way for future generations of Saudi women to make an impact in the arts, while Annabel Wahba from the women’s magazine Brigitte said that she was overwhelmed by Al-Mansour’s modesty and shyness, yet evident strong will as evidenced by the film.