Joyland: Film Review
During my interview with Georgia Oakley, she recommended Joyland, Pakistan’s submission for the International Feature Film Oscar, and I can now appreciate why.
Joyland tells the story of Haider (Ali Junejo), a man who helps run a cramped household of nine people with his sister-in-law Nucchi (Sarwat Gilani). He has been unemployed for years and likes doing the traditional “housewife” role while his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq) goes out to work at a make-up salon. However, after feeling constantly shamed for his lack of income, he gets a job as a backup dancer for the transgender erotic dancer Biba (Alina Khan). He becomes enthralled by her strong-willed, feisty nature and they embark on an affair.
Joyland flips the gender norms with a fascinating effect. Haider is not your typical masculine man – he is shy, submissive and doesn’t stand up for himself or his wife. He feels stifled in his household, with his severe father ‘Abba’ (Salmaan Peerzada) scorning him for not being manly and his older brother Saleem (Sameer Sohail) telling him how to live his life. With Biba, he can escape from those claustrophobic confines and be himself.
While his relationship with Biba is the main crux of the story, my heart lies with Mumtaz. She has an unexpected amount of screentime and that was a pleasant surprise. I related to her so much – she didn’t want children and loved to work and so she loses her identity when she is forced to quit her job to run the household in Haider’s place. I understood her deeply and felt really sorry for her being trapped in that situation.
Joyland, which won the Queer Palm at Cannes last year, is a little bit too long but that’s the only downside. It is a tender and poignant film that explores what happens when we suppress our desires and who we are to carry out the role we’re expected to play within society and our families. What a moving debut from Saim Sadiq.
In cinemas from Friday 24th February