A rare glimpse at the indoor lives of Saudi women
“All politics are local,” the saying goes. That’s a guiding principle in “The Perfect Candidate,” in which a doctor runs for town council purely to get the muddy dirt road in front of a medical clinic paved.
But that saying comes from American politics. This is Saudi Arabia. Most importantly, the doctor (and candidate) is a woman. So the underlying issues in this film by pioneering Saudi director Haifaa Al-Mansour are about a lot more than paving a road.
Al-Mansour gained worldwide acclaim in 2012 with “Wadjda,” about a young Saudi girl aiming to own a bicycle. It was the first feature directed by a Saudi woman, and the first shot entirely inside the kingdom. It also provided a rare glimpse at the lives of Saudi women.
Nearly a decade later, “The Perfect Candidate” does much the same. In fact, its strength lies in the fascinating visual detail that fleshes out a rather formulaic script: the view we get once Saudi women go inside and remove the niqab, or facial veil, whether it’s cooking with family at home or dancing at a gender-segregated wedding.
It’s no accident that the very first scene introduces our main character, Maryam, as she drives her own car to work. Women in Saudi Arabia only gained this right in 2018, after a hard-fought and dangerous campaign by female activists (some of whom were jailed for their efforts).
But Maryam (Mila Al-Zahrani, in a lovely and sensitive portrayal), is no activist. She’s a quiet and hardworking doctor who lives a conservative lifestyle and just wants to do her job.
The film follows two narrative tracks, both of which involve social and cultural struggles in the kingdom. There’s Maryam and her campaign, which gradually catches fire, and then there’s her father and his fellow musicians, trying to preserve their art form amid opposition to public performances.
But most of the value in this film comes from the peek it gives us into life as a Saudi woman — a life that is changing, AlMansour points out, albeit too slowly for some.
“The Perfect Candidate,” a Music Box Films release, is unrated by the Motion Picture Association of America. Running time: 104 minutes.