Wadjda builds a complex portrait of a place and people around a simple story.

| Jan 20, 2021

Though people will talk about how it breaks boundaries and how pioneering it is, that's not what you most need to know. What you most need to know is that it's fascinating, involving, moving, an entirely excellent film in its own right.

| Sep 5, 2018

Determinedly non-preachy, non-bitter and rapturously uplifting.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 5, 2017

A moving film that is punctuated by two heartening debut performances Wadjda never stops to second guess itself in its intent or declaration.

| Original Score: A | Sep 5, 2017

The overall pro-freedom message comes through loud and clear. Rhetorically speaking, the trick of using childish innocence to reveal adult hypocrisy is virtually foolproof.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 21, 2014

It's a provocative but credible premise and in exploring it, Al Mansour has come up with an engagingly subversive character. Wadjda is a delight.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 21, 2014

By any standards, this [is] a fine, moving film and essential viewing for anyone who cares about contemporary cinema.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 14, 2014

Al Mansour's first feature film is a striking achievement.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 10, 2013

In the title role Mohammed makes a sweet scamp, wry and watchful, always chancing her arm even as she senses trouble ahead -- which is, in a nutshell, what most Saudi women can expect of life.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 10, 2013

Haifaa al Mansour's debut merits recognition for its fresh-feeling take on the trope whereby the travails of a child protagonist mirror those of a wider society.

| Dec 10, 2013

The most radical and cheering message of Wadjda is that a change isn't just possible, but inevitable.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 10, 2013

Writer/director Haifaa al-Mansour's story is relatively simple, although the world it reveals is deeply complex.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 18, 2013

"Wadjda" earns extra points just for being what it is. Who knew that, in a country that famously frowns on women driving cars, some are even allowed to make movies?

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 17, 2013

This delightful debut feature by a Saudi woman named Haifaa Al-Mansour uses a bicycle as a metaphor for freedom within a social circumference.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 17, 2013

A sweet little film about the human spirit, about want and energy and determination against unfair odds.

| Original Score: B+ | Oct 11, 2013

In Saudi filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour's winsome wonder Wadjda, a young girl's aspirations provide an intimate glimpse into the possibilities and limitations of a cloaked culture.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2013

More than a critique of Saudi society, "Wadjda" offers a character with universal resonance and appeal.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 3, 2013

Al-Mansour seems out to make a movie that works in America. Which is likely a savvy move, since it seems unlikely she's going to get much traction back home.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 3, 2013

The film is deserving of its position as a pioneer. It's a heartfelt, touching peek into the day-to-day life of a culture Westerners rarely get to see.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 3, 2013

Wadjda is a movie about freedom - and nothing represents freedom with the metaphoric simplicity and symmetry of a bicycle.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 3, 2013