The Perfect Candidate

**Eid Mubarak!**
Oh, wow. Another precious film from Haifaa =') I've been a fan since I watched Wadjda years ago. Now this!
First, my review considers those people who haven't lived in KSA.
If anyone outside Saudi says/thinks it's "forced", "weird", or some other similar nonsense, then they haven't experienced Saudi yet.

**The cast was perfect!**
I've been living for almost 10 years in Saudi now. It captured the struggles, conversations, cultures, nuances of the people -- my friends and neighbors and their families, what I see in conversations with strangers, and my walks inside parks, conventions, and malls.. .
It's so familiar and also eye-opening.
(I recognize some of the places in the shots in Riyadh (film location was supposedly "outside RIyadh", so a bit of film cheat there), and there were interactions among people that I haven't seen myself but know are happening.)
She's driving and it wasn't a big deal already -- women only started driving on the 24th of June 2018 -- so this must've been shot in 2019.

**It was sad, but was also fun and so heartfelt. It's raw, hopeful and empowering. Some scenes seem dark, like inside their home. But that's how it is here. You don't have movie lighting in homes. It's authentic. It's personal. It takes you to the real places.**

_Perfect film watching during this Eid Al-Adha :')_

I'm rooting for Dr. Maryam and the people she represents!

A female doctor runs for office in a local election in Saudi Arabia.

I never stopped trying to like _The Perfect Candidate_, despite the bland, facile treatment of what could've been an explosive subject. I kept trying but The Perfect Candidate didn't.