''The Perfect Candidate'' () is a 2019 Saudi Arabian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Haifaa al-Mansour. It was selected to compete for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. It was also selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

Plot

A young female Saudi doctor's run for office in the local city elections forces her family and community to accept their town's first female candidate.

Cast

* Mila Al Zahrani as Maryam * Nora Al Awadh as Sara * Dhay as Selma

Reception

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, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "A message movie admirable for its subtlety as well as its execution, ''The Perfect Candidate'' faces oppression and powerfully advocates for change." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Writing for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', Deborah Young called the film a "simplistic feminist tale with an irresistible heroine" and said: "''The Perfect Candidate'' offers a candid view on Saudi Arabian society that will pique the curiosity of Western audiences."

Awards

* Brian Award at the 76th Venice International Film Festival

References

External links