Wadjda

Haifaa Al Mansour's beguiling rite-of-passage tale is the first feature filmed entirely within Saudi Arabia. A sly study of the status of women in a rigid patriarchy, its potent points are tempered by some disarming humour and the sheer charm of Waad Mohammed's performance as the ten-year-old tomboy who pesters her mother for a bicycle so she can keep playing with her male friend. Behind the simple storyline, however, Al Mansour examines such contentious topics as marital law, the place of the Koran in daily life, the restrictions placed on female travel and the hypocrisy of the conservative elite, epitomised by a strict female school principal. But any criticisms are muted, as Al Mansour (who sometimes had to remain hidden while directing location sequences) could not risk offending the authorities who had given her permission to make the picture. With German cinematographer Lutz Reitemeier making evocative use of confined spaces and the cast's winning naturalism, this entertains as much as it intrigues and perturbs.