January 23, 2023
FILM: JOYLAND
DIRECTED BY: SAIM SADIQ
STARRING: ALI JUNEJO, RASTI FAROOQ, ALINA KHAN
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Joyland is one of the fifteen titles on the Oscar shortlist for Best International Film this year. (Final nominees will be announced tomorrow.) It originates from Pakistan where it was banned and then subsequently released in a highly edited form. Fortunately here in the U.S. most of us are not as shocked by material which essentially addresses sexual identity and transgender issues.
The film stars Ali Junejo as Haider who lives in a small town in Pakistan with his wife, Mumtaz, whom he was arranged to marry sometime earlier. Right from the beginning we get a great sense for who these characters are and the traditional world in which they live. Haider’s domineering but disabled father tells Haider to kill a goat they are raising for meat. He says it is a man’s job but Haider struggles, leaving Mumtaz to jump in and murder the animal herself. The incident is not directly shown and doesn’t at all suggest that this will be a gruesome film. Rather it sets the stage for a story about assigned gender roles – whether they are given at birth or by social custom. Haider also doesn’t have a job but his wife does. This seems to have worked for them until needs suggest Haider should also be employed.
The job he gets is in an erotic dance theater. While he has no experience (except for playing Juliet in a high school production…) his handsome good looks attract the attention of one of the performers, Biba, a transgender woman. He becomes one of her backup dancers. Right from the start, Haider demonstrates a fascination and sensitivity towards Biba. He watches her and becomes aware of the harassment she faces and the toughness she exhibits in response and at the theater. Soon their relationship takes an unexpected turn.
Meanwhile life at home puts Haider under constant pressure from his family. His marriage to Mumtaz is sexless and she yearns for her own life outside this insular world. Eventually the narrative takes some dramatic additional turns that I won’t reveal.
Director Saim Sadiq, who co-wrote the script with Maggie Briggs, does a top-notch job of creating a realistic and well-developed set of characters and an intricate web of relationships between them. There’s nothing simple about the various decisions they each make as they are living in the 21st Century with a complex set of options available to them. While some of the melodrama that transpires might seem a bit heavy handed at times, I believe it is all earned based on the culture in which these characters live.
The production design and cinematography are also quite exquisite here. Sadiq showers the film with an array of vibrant colors, particularly greens, reds, and yellows, that emphasize the highly emotional choices these characters must make. When things get dark, so does the setting as if sometimes decisions can drain the life out of certain people and places.
It’s also important to re-iterate how well the film handles the subject of gender identity and how, in today’s world, there are no easy answers to the new options people have to express themselves while still living in a traditional community. The film never shies away from the reality of sex and sexual identity. It is refreshing to see it explored in this much more closed society. This is a film well-worth seeing.
Joyland has played at numerous film festivals since its premiere at Cannes last May. It will be available to be streamed via the Sundance Film Festival from January 24th until the 29th. Check out festival.sundance.org for more details.
FILM: JOYLAND
DIRECTED BY: SAIM SADIQ
STARRING: ALI JUNEJO, RASTI FAROOQ, ALINA KHAN
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Joyland is one of the fifteen titles on the Oscar shortlist for Best International Film this year. (Final nominees will be announced tomorrow.) It originates from Pakistan where it was banned and then subsequently released in a highly edited form. Fortunately here in the U.S. most of us are not as shocked by material which essentially addresses sexual identity and transgender issues.
The film stars Ali Junejo as Haider who lives in a small town in Pakistan with his wife, Mumtaz, whom he was arranged to marry sometime earlier. Right from the beginning we get a great sense for who these characters are and the traditional world in which they live. Haider’s domineering but disabled father tells Haider to kill a goat they are raising for meat. He says it is a man’s job but Haider struggles, leaving Mumtaz to jump in and murder the animal herself. The incident is not directly shown and doesn’t at all suggest that this will be a gruesome film. Rather it sets the stage for a story about assigned gender roles – whether they are given at birth or by social custom. Haider also doesn’t have a job but his wife does. This seems to have worked for them until needs suggest Haider should also be employed.
The job he gets is in an erotic dance theater. While he has no experience (except for playing Juliet in a high school production…) his handsome good looks attract the attention of one of the performers, Biba, a transgender woman. He becomes one of her backup dancers. Right from the start, Haider demonstrates a fascination and sensitivity towards Biba. He watches her and becomes aware of the harassment she faces and the toughness she exhibits in response and at the theater. Soon their relationship takes an unexpected turn.
Meanwhile life at home puts Haider under constant pressure from his family. His marriage to Mumtaz is sexless and she yearns for her own life outside this insular world. Eventually the narrative takes some dramatic additional turns that I won’t reveal.
Director Saim Sadiq, who co-wrote the script with Maggie Briggs, does a top-notch job of creating a realistic and well-developed set of characters and an intricate web of relationships between them. There’s nothing simple about the various decisions they each make as they are living in the 21st Century with a complex set of options available to them. While some of the melodrama that transpires might seem a bit heavy handed at times, I believe it is all earned based on the culture in which these characters live.
The production design and cinematography are also quite exquisite here. Sadiq showers the film with an array of vibrant colors, particularly greens, reds, and yellows, that emphasize the highly emotional choices these characters must make. When things get dark, so does the setting as if sometimes decisions can drain the life out of certain people and places.
It’s also important to re-iterate how well the film handles the subject of gender identity and how, in today’s world, there are no easy answers to the new options people have to express themselves while still living in a traditional community. The film never shies away from the reality of sex and sexual identity. It is refreshing to see it explored in this much more closed society. This is a film well-worth seeing.
Joyland has played at numerous film festivals since its premiere at Cannes last May. It will be available to be streamed via the Sundance Film Festival from January 24th until the 29th. Check out festival.sundance.org for more details.