Director Saim Sadiq makes excellent use of melodrama and cinematography in order to convey his scathing critiques.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 17, 2024

Joyland becomes a tribute to all men, women, and transgender people who bear the human cost of a patriarchal society, as well as a celebration of desire that creates indestructible bonds of love. [Full review in Spanish]

| Jul 14, 2024

The realistic depiction, clarity of purpose, occasional gallows humor, and crucial message - with equality and freedom of choice at the center - are the reasons for the movie’s success, but the execution is a bit tacky...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 15, 2023

In his debut feature, Saim Sadiq crafts a story sensitive in nature and vibrant in visuals while tackling divided gender roles and repressed sexual desires in his homeland of Pakistan.

| Jul 25, 2023

Joyland is a lyrical and reflective film that’s intimate and tender mixed with nuance and poignancy.

| Jul 5, 2023

The film’s very existence thus constitutes an act of artistic bravery, even if its low-key melodramatics may feel less resonant (let alone daring) viewed here.

| Jun 12, 2023

All these story threads come together in a nuanced, complex conclusion that combines deep sadness and (some) muted hope. Sadiq is a filmmaker to watch.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 9, 2023

A tender story that feels like a novel in its minute detail, this is a film about self-discovery in a place where self-discovery can be dangerous.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 2, 2023

Over and above its antique cautionary-tale framework, writer-director Saim Sadiq’s drama (co-written with American scenarist Maggie Briggs) is a mini-treatise on Pakistani society in the 21st century, particularly in the gender-role-playing arena.

| May 24, 2023

The most powerful elements of Joyland are pictorial. Director Sadiq has a great eye for framing. His characters are strikingly posed in alleys, doorways, and other spaces within spaces.

| May 24, 2023

Instead of being swamped, he effectively tells a story in which the uneasy conflation of all these elements breeds a tragic outcome. Joyland leaves us in a mood of sad reflection.

| May 24, 2023

The theme of repression in a regimented society percolates throughout this melancholy and lovely Pakistani film.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 23, 2023

While “Joyland” has become known as a romance between a married man and the trans dancer he begins to work for, it is actually far broader in scope, addressing how Pakistani patriarchy oppresses women and the LGBTQ community.

| Original Score: A- | May 22, 2023

Ali Junejo’s performance ranks as one of the finest you’ll see in any year.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 17, 2023

What’s in a name? For Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq, there’s so much meaning wrapped up in the title of his extraordinary debut feature, “Joyland.”

| Original Score: 4/4 | May 17, 2023

There's always emotional authenticity... Everyone gets their moment to shine.

| May 17, 2023

A deeply affecting and accomplished first film.

| May 17, 2023

An accomplished visualist even in his first picture, Sadiq conveys a world in a way that doesn’t require a raft of exposition.. directly into the sensations...the longings of his characters. Life is lived, despite tradition, despite patriarchy’s hold.

| Original Score: 9/10 | May 14, 2023

There's not a single frame where the camera is in the wrong place, nor is there a single moment where the streets and characters of Lahore don't feel alive. It might even be impeccable.

| May 12, 2023

When the final tile is inevitably, predictably, calmly laid, it doesn't make the tragedy any less haunting.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 4, 2023