Parents' Guide to

Wadjda

Movie PG 2013 98 minutes
Wadjda Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Sandie Angulo Chen By Sandie Angulo Chen , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 9+

Beautiful, nuanced tale of an independent Saudi girl.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 9+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 9+

Based on 7 parent reviews

age 12+

Not appropriate for 9 year olds

Parental Guide on IMDB.com has following to say about Sex in this film: It is implied that Wadjda's friend Abeer was caught with another man. There are later references to her being married off. In one scene two girls are giving each other magazines, and the head teacher Ms Hassa sees one of the girls' hands under the skirt of the other. The religion club leader tells the girls that they shouldn't touch the Koran while having their periods. Wadjda falls off a bike and complains that she is bleeding - someone says "What's bleeding, your virginity?"
age 15+

Maximum knowledge about Saudi Arabia and Islam

This film gives you enough knowledge about Saudi Arabia and its fossilized views on everything, women in this country are not allowed to sing, they have to cover their faces, they do not even have the right to vote, women in Saudi Arabia are just a device for childbirth And even their value in Islamic jurisprudence is set at half a man, these are facts that no one can hide, but about the film it can be said that the acting was poor, the directing was very mediocre and the script could have been more detailed. Warning Spoilers: Wadjda falls off a bike and complains that she is bleeding - someone says "What's bleeding, your virginity?"

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (4 ):

The first Saudi Arabian-produced film ever to be directed by a woman, Haifaa Al-Mansour, is a triumph of nuance and substance. Enterprising young Wadjda -- with her love of Western radio, quirky Chucks with purple laces, and singular decision to beat Abdullah in a bike race -- is a study in everyday female empowerment. When her mother informs her that her father's family tree can never include her, because it only features men's names, she boldly writes "Wadjda" on a sticky note and tacks it on to the painting. The moment is both touching and a loaded statement -- her father's "glorious" legacy will never claim her.

Wadjda knows what her future holds. She must marry (one of her more pious classmates is already a wife) and bear her husband's sons -- something that her own beautiful mother was unable to do. But that's another story, because Wadjda is about independent thinking, overcoming odds, and unconditional friendship. Abdullah and Wadjda don't create a fictional world like Terabithia, but in their own way, they talk and play and compete like equals -- something just as secret and magical (and dangerous), given their homeland.

Movie Details

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