Taking place in Saudi Arabia, a female doctor, Maryam, wants to run for local office because she believes some changes should be made in her town. For one, Maryam thinks women should be able to do things without needing permission and be treated equally to men.
Blaine: Haifaa Al-Mansour comes from a family of 14. She has 11 siblings and one of her sisters is a doctor, and another sister organizes parties. Haifaa always admired those two for supporting each other. Haifaa’s mother was happy that those two made their dreams come true. Haifaa’s mother’s dream growing up was to be a singer, but it was forbidden in her family. She didn’t want her children to go through the same thing. She wanted them to achieve something. The mother wanted to help Haifaa find something she could do in life, like being a doctor too, but Haifaa didn’t believe she was suitable for that. Haifaa wanted to be in control of what she should be in life. However, the mother did lead her to something that would interest her. The mother not only loved to sing, but she loved film as well. Haifaa loved watching films with her mom. Cinema is not that popular in Saudi Arabia, but it was something both Haifaa and her mother shared a love for. Haifaa realized that film was her passion and she wanted to be in the business. Haifaa Al-Mansour really made something of herself. She not only achieved a career in filmmaking, but she is the first female in Saudi Ababia to become a filmmaker.
The first feature Haifaa made, “Wadjda”, took place in her home of Saudi Arabia. And then she made a film about the life of famous “Frankenstein” author, Mary Shelley. When it came to her fourth feature, Haifa Al-Mansour wanted to do it in Saudi Arabia again. “The Perfect Candidate” was more personal to Haifaa because the characters in it would represent her own family, like the sister who is a doctor and the sister who puts parties together.
The actors Haifaa Al-Mansour hired weren’t professionals, but each one had something in them that Haifaa wanted to see in the characters. Mila Al Zahrani hasn’t done that much acting, but she does take it seriously and she made Haifaa believe that she is meant to be a leader as she was reading for her. Mila really expresses the lines because the lead character, Maryam, has a voice. Mila also shows that Maryam is not afraid to be herself. Maryam works at an all female doctor clinic. The film starts off with Maryam trying to treat a elder patient, but he prefers male doctors. Maryam is trying to do her job, but Abu is not making it easy. His grandson, Omar, on the other hand doesn’t care if the doctor is male or female, as long as they know what they are doing. Maryam feels life is unfair. Like what’s the point of being a doctor if you are not being treated like one. Also, she was planning to travel to Dubai, but that got canceled because her permission had expired. Maryam has had enough and so she decides to run for office to make changes. Maryam may not know a lot about being in office, but she is a positive person who wants to change things for the best. She wants to be her own person, thinks women should live life freely and be treated equally to men. Another thing Maryam wants is a paved road for the clinic because the ground is all muddy.
A lot of women are showing how strong they are, especially in the film business. In Saudi Arabia it’s actually difficult for women to be more what they want to be. In the past, they couldn’t drive unless they had a man’s permission. Haifaa Al-Mansour always hated that. She always had to hire a driver to get to work and he was always late, which made her late for work. But that has changed and now women in Saudi Arabia can drive without needing permission to do it. However, they still need permission to travel.
Maryam’s mother is deceased, but she was alive in the first draft of the script. Haifa wrote the mother to be an amazing person, but she was kind of stealing the show from Maryam and the movie is supposed to be about her. So Haifaa killed the mother off, but her spirit would be with the family. Haifaa’s mother wanted to be a singer, and Maryam’s mother represents what Haifaa’s mother could have been in life. Maryam herself has a talent for singing, but she didn’t want to follow in her mother's footsteps because she was more interested in becoming a doctor. I think Maryam’s late mother encouraged her. Maryam tells her sister, Selma, the story when their mother brought Maryam on stage to sing with her and people were staring at her. Maryam must have been nervous, but she managed to do well. These days, Maryam isn’t afraid about being a public figure and saying things she thinks are important to hear.
Haifaa also wanted the film to focus on the father. He’s on a music tour wanting to achieve something for himself. His band’s not popular, but they manage to get a few gigs. The father plays music because it’s everything to him. So whether he’s successful or not, at least he gets to do what he loves. That’s why Haifaa decided to have the film focus on the father too because she also wanted the film to show a person’s passion. The father sees what his girls are up to through the internet. He’s not completely sure about Maryam running for office. She’s his daughter and parents are supposed to be supportive of their children. But he knows how everyone in Saudi Arabia thinks and it concerns him of what this will do to the family.
Another family member who is not completely sure on the campaign is Maryam’s younger sister, Sara. Sara is afraid of what kind of effect this will have on the family. Sara is a downer, but she participates in helping Maryam. The other sister, Selma, wasn’t so sure about this campaign either, but it quickly became exciting for her. Selma is more open minded. She admires Maryam’s bravery and sees her strength. Maryam is showing Selma hope and is becoming an inspiration to her too. Selma is Maryam’s number one supporter. It’s nice to know at least one family member has complete faith in Maryam. Selma is based on Haifaa’s other sister, who designs parties. Selma is a photographer, videographer and designer. She usually does weddings because that’s her job. Dae Al Hilali is popular on instagram, it’s like being a YouTube star. What Haifaa liked about Dae is how she is full of life and that’s the kind of personality Haifaa wanted to see in Selma. “The Perfect Candidate” changed Dae’s life because she was getting a lot of film offers after that.
Maryam speaks to women first and they are hardly paying attention to her. But Maryam knows what will grab their attention. She gives them a reason why the clinic needs a paved road. It’s hard to get patients into the clinic immediately with all that mud on the ground and a person you would care about needs medical attention fast. Maryam is saying things that makes those women think. Not too hard though. They found Maryam’s speech impressive, but a lot of them don’t give a damn about changing their ways because they are fine with the way things are. They don’t want more for themselves as much as Maryam. They just live life as it is. Maryam has little support, but she believes in herself.
Maryam will speak her mind. She doesn’t care if she is made fun of or not. Maryam will take anything. What she does care about is people taking her seriously. She will not be ignored. She will let people hear her voice whether they like it or not.
Maryam tries to make a speech to men through a screen on the other side of the tent, but they hardly listen to her. One jerk keeps interrupting Maryam. Her speech doesn’t even last one minute. It’s almost like the Presidential Debate with Trump against Biden. Maryam walks over and makes her speech in person. She just yells out what she has to say so they can hear her. She explains that the clinic she works at needs a paved road, and a lot of the men are just being jerks, but others hear what Maryam has to say. Maryam is upset that she is not taken seriously, but the words she is saying are getting to people. The next day, construction workers make a paved road for the clinic. It shows that there are people out there who are listening.
Maryam wants to continue running for office. She is feeling she has what it takes to be a leader. She’s happy the clinic has a paved road, but that’s only half of what she wants. Maryam wants to prove that women can do anything and that they should be independent.
Omar, who I mentioned is Abu’s grandson, has been on Maryam’s side since they first met. Maryam needs to perform surgery on Abu, but he won’t allow it. Omar sees how serious Maryam takes her job and is a convincing woman as well. Abu won’t listen to Maryam, but his grandson changes his mind because he knows how to.
Omar is also helping Maryam out with the campaign. Omar sees a lot in Maryam. She feels like a professional to him. Haifaa said that Omar has romantic feelings for Maryam. Haifaa didn’t add a love story in “The Perfect Candidate” because she didn’t want it to be a romance. She wanted it to focus on Maryam standing for something.
Maryam loses the election. It’s over, but at least Maryam and her sisters tried. Maryam doesn’t let losing get to her, she is strong. Selma is proud to call Maryam her sister. And Sara has lightened up a bit. Sara was afraid that Maryam running for office would embarrass the family, but people were doing what she wanted like giving the clinic a paved road, even though she wasn’t in charge. Maryam was proving she was right about a lot of things.
What Maryam did wasn’t all for nothing. If Maryam hadn’t spoken up there wouldn’t be a paved road for the clinic. And Abu Musa, the elder patient who was giving Maryam a tough time at work, he goes to see Maryam at the hospital and he tells her that he voted for her. In the beginning Abu didn’t trust Maryam, but she has earned his trust after saving his life. Abu realizes he was wrong about Maryam. Abu must have also been watching Maryam on the internet and on T.V. He was one of those people who was listening. Maryam is happy to hear that Abu supported her. This is what Maryam really wanted. It wasn’t so much about having power in office, it was about making a change and being treated with respect. A man who wasn’t so kind to Maryam in the beginning has had a change of heart and it’s proof that more change is to come. Maryam’s wishes are coming true.
My rating on “The Perfect Candidate” is five out of five stars
