Winner of the Gan Foundation Award and the Rail d'Or Award for Best Feature Film in Cannes, “Inshallah A Boy” is also Jordan's official submission for the 96th Academy Awards. Rasheed took inspiration from a law in Jordan, where if a woman loses her husband and doesn't have a son, part of the inheritance goes to her in-laws.
“Inshallah A Boy“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival
This is exactly the situation Nawal, a nurse who takes care of an incapacitated old woman for a living, finds herself in, when her husband dies during his sleep, without leaving a will. Her and her little daughter have to face her husband's brother, Rifqi, who essentially wants to take their home from them and sell it, under the aforementioned law. Her only means to avoid losing her home and even the custody of her daughter is to give birth to a son. Her brother wants to help her, but the pressure of Rifqi and the intensely patriarchal laws of the country occasionally make him appear as an enemy rather than an ally. Her line of work, surprisingly, offer a couple of ways out for her, but Nawal stumbles upon new problems.
Amjad Al Rasheed's debut” is definitely a polemic film. The way Nawal finds herself attacked from men from every side becomes more and more apparent as the story unfolds, since men (and even boys) on the street, to colleagues, to her brother-in-law, and occasionally even her brother seem to exploit, pin her down, and in general, not to leave her alone, driven by both the law and an intense prejudice towards women. Rifqi in particular, essentially emerges as the villain of the story, since, instead of wishing to help his sister-in-law, keeps putting more and more burdens in her life, at one of her worst moments, just after her husband has died. Al Rasheed shows that he also has financial issues, some of them actually resulting from the death; his attitude, however, makes it impossible to feel any kind of sympathy for him. Hitham Omari is exceptional in the role, embodying all the issues of the patriarchy in the most eloquent fashion.
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Her brother is an equally intriguing figure, with the fact that he cares and wants to help her sister, but also bosses over her, himself driven by patriarchy, makes his behavior and overall attitude both appealing and infuriating, in another very intriguing part of the movie.
The one who steals the show, however, is definitely the protagonist, a true survivor who finds herself in an impossible situation and decides to go to extremes to help herself and her daughter. The fact that she only finds some help from the women around her is also a comment in itself, but in the end, Al Rasheed makes a point of showing that she can only trust herself and luck (God if you prefer), with the ending highlighting the fact in the most eloquent fashion. Mouna Hawa in the role is exceptional throughout the movie, with the moments she erupts in particular being a wonder to watch.
Regarding the story, the only aspect that is problematic is the side arc with the family of the incapacitated old woman, which is not particularly well handled, also due to some structure issues. Granted, it is important for both the economy of the story and as an additional comment about the troubles women face in the country, but a number of times, it seems disconnected from the rest of the film.
DP Kanamé Onoyama's camera follows the protagonist as close as possible, in an aspect that reminds of French cinema intently, but which actually works quite well considering the quality of the performance. His framing also succeeds in showing the suffocating setting Nawal is inhabiting, thus becoming an integral part of the narrative. Ahmed Hafez's editing results in a relatively fast pace, that adds to the entertainment the movie offers, although, as mentioned above, some aspects could have been omitted, bringing the duration down from the somewhat too much 113 minutes.
Apart from some issues here and there, “Inshallah A Boy” is a rather competent debut, which succeeds in what seemed to be the director's main goal, of getting his viewers angry about the circumstances women face in Jordan.
