A film that received an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes, Saim Sadiq’s Joyland is a hard-hitting exploration of contemporary patriarchal family dynamics that deepens our understanding of the prison of gender politics. Set in a traditional Pakistani home, Sadiq’s written and directed film is one that covers identity, desire and expression and the fluidity between them with rays of euphoria that peak through its dark exterior.
Haider (Ali Junejo) is newly employed as a background dancer for a captivating trans performer at a Bollywood-style theater, and this harshly disrupts his family dynamic as his wife is forced to leave her job to become a homemaker and caretaker for the patriarch of the family. Haider and his stunning employer, a starlet named Biba (Alina Khan) begin to form an attachment to one another, causing him to reevaluate his own identity in the process. Meanwhile, his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq) is disgruntled by her new role as a housewife, as she and her husband have now switched back to a conventional marriage dynamic. Mumtaz deals with the weight of domesticity opposite Haider, who is let in to a world beyond the patriarchal infrastructure, yet they both understand that their personal fulfillment is one not served by their gender-aligned roles. At first a survey of an unconventional wife and husband, Joyland reveals how each of its characters are affected by cis-hetero-male-centric institutions, regardless of gender, regardless of sexuality, and regardless of their awareness of its suffocating grasp.
The ensemble is one that collectively adds perspective to an ever-personal relationship between one’s identity versus perceived identity based on gender performance, and further how that perception can deteriorate one’s self-actualization. Each member of the family deals with how their patriarchal microcosm makes them feel inadequate in some aspect. From men feeling emasculated by signs of aging, to acknowledging that women lose their value beyond mothering, the scope of Haider’s infatuation with Biba reaches farther and hits closer to home than he could have imagined. Farooq as Mumtaz gives the most chilling performance as a woman whose position as soon-to-be mother pushes her into isolation and slowly breaks down her mental capacity. Khan as Biba is widely entrancing and gives a stunning composition of individual sustainment. She doesn’t ask for respect from cis-men, she fiercely commands it.
Joe Saade’s cinematography emphasizes the claustrophobia of confinement the ensemble feels at their worst, and the hints of acceptance they feel at their best. The film’s final shot is the latter, an extreme wide-shot of its protagonist surrounded by ocean, although it still remains a cold disconnect from the family unit we see at the beginning. This and the more intimate scenes between Haider and Biba is one of the many moments that have a lasting impression on the viewer. Often using lowlights and intentional set design to bring auditory cues to our attention makes for a more active viewing experience as we follow the deconstruction of generations of tradition.
Joyland is distinctively crafted to explore the dynamic between convention and true identity through the disruption of one Pakistani family. Sadiq’s work as writer and director is one already acclaimed and is sure to be one to look out for in future releases. The cast performances are strong, and the storytelling reflects a larger conversation about the threat that authenticity poses on institutions of power.
Photo courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories
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