Maryam is a doctor in a clinic in a small town in Saudi Arabia.
While she wants to go to Riyadh to apply for a surgeon position at a large hospital, she is denied the right to fly.
Being single, she requires an up-to-date authorization signed by her father, who is unfortunately absent.
Outraged by this travel ban, she decides to run for the municipal elections in her town. A candidacy frowned upon by her male opponents…
But how can a woman campaign in this country? She embarks on this journey, accompanied by her two sisters. The election campaign, based on ten steps found online, does not promise to be smooth sailing.
Discreetly, digital tools appear as means to accompany the evolution of society while maintaining the social framework. The historical separation in Saudi Arabia between men and women during weddings, political meetings, or in mosques is revolutionized by video conferencing, which Maryam uses occasionally. She has to be cunning to circumvent the traditions that constrain women’s conditions and voices. Her sisters will wonderfully illustrate the modern use of images and sound and the use of social media under Saudi codes.
Even if the electoral victory seems like a foregone conclusion, that’s not the point. Maryam strives to advocate for courage and the desire for change much more than the result. All it takes is to “change mentalities”!
“The Perfect Candidate” unravels a snippet of Maryam’s life, but also that of her two sisters and her father. A musician and singer on tour during the campaign, the parallel is constant throughout the film, revealing the ease of the paternal figure in success, though tormented by his daughters’ emancipation. A counterbalance to the perilous path taken by one of them.
In this unadorned chronicle carried by beautiful traditional music, Haifaa Al-Mansour continues to champion women’s rights, still mistreated in her country, and paints a portrait, never pitiful and often joyful, of three sisters who try to bring about change and never give up. A beautiful lesson in courage.
Haifaa Al-Mansour is the first female filmmaker from a country, Saudi Arabia, with an embryonic film industry. In 2012, her transition to directing a first feature film, Wadjda, was a success praised at numerous festivals, including Venice.
Her latest film production addresses the condition of women (but not just that!) in her country without necessarily calling for the audience’s compassion or indignation…
Ultimately, this film is worth watching both for its story and its message.
