The Perfect Candidate
2019 film
The Perfect Candidate (Arabic: المرشحة المثالية, romanized: al-muraššaḥa al-mithāliyya) is a 2019 Saudi Arabian drama film directed by Haifaa al-Mansour. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. It was also selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
01Plot
A young female Saudi doctor's run for office in the local city elections forces her family and community to accept their town's first female candidate.
Her becoming a candidate is an accidental result of her attempt to apply for a permit to leave the country. She runs her campaign around a single issue, that the road to the hospital be improved. Although many women agree with her message, they are intimidated by their guardians, and the men in her community don't take her seriously.
02Cast
- Mila Al Zahrani as Maryam
- Nora Al Awadh as Sara
- Dhay as Selma
03Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A message movie admirable for its subtlety as well as its execution, The Perfect Candidate faces oppression and powerfully advocates for change." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Deborah Young called the film a "simplistic feminist tale with an irresistible heroine" and said: "The Perfect Candidate offers a candid view on Saudi Arabian society that will pique the curiosity of Western audiences."
04Awards
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “The Perfect Candidate”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- ThePerfectCandidate.jpeg by Music Box Films, Fair use
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