Basma

For an Arab movie reflecting the society we live in and the typical traditional mindset, this film is remarkably well-produced. The storyline dives deep into the emotional and psychological complexities surrounding the struggle of accepting mental illness-or any form of abnormality-in a conservative social context. It shines a light on how stigmas around mental health are still deeply rooted in many Arab households, where silence and denial are often preferred over seeking help or showing vulnerability. The film portrays this struggle through powerful characters who, despite their internal battles, are often met with judgment, fear, or misunderstanding from those closest to them.

One of the film's strongest points is how honestly it depicts this tension without exaggeration or melodrama. Instead, it stays grounded in reality, showing the small moments of isolation, shame, and resistance that many people with mental health issues or neurological differences endure. It also brings attention to the role of family reputation and societal pressure in shaping personal decisions-another familiar theme in Arab culture. Characters are often torn between preserving social image and supporting loved ones in need, a painful dilemma that resonates with many viewers.

The direction, cinematography, and pacing further enhance the emotional impact. Scenes are composed thoughtfully, often using silence, facial expressions, or symbolic elements to say more than words could. The dialogue feels natural and real, contributing to a sense of authenticity that pulls you into the characters' world. You can't help but feel empathy-even frustration-because what you see on screen mirrors what you've seen or experienced in your own surroundings.

What makes this movie stand out is not just its production value, but its courage. It dares to talk about things that are usually brushed under the rug in our communities. It holds up a mirror to our collective mindset and forces us to ask tough questions: Why do we avoid what we don't understand? Why is seeking help seen as a weakness? This film doesn't offer all the answers, but it starts an important conversation-one that's long overdue.

In short, it really reflects reality.

First time I see such a discrepancy between what I saw and the imdb rating of 4.4

For me a 6 or even 6.5.

Basma is a story about the difficult relation between daughter Basma who returns from her studies in Los Angeles, her father who has left the family and now lives alone and the rest of the family. She too has to learn that things are never black and white as we are used to see them. Good script, good acting, a glance at the life in a mostly unknown country make a nice movie albeit just a little slow in developing the story but I am not sure if faster would be better in this case. Would see again with pleasure after one or two years.

Boring, bad acting and cringey dialogue are just a few of the criticisms of this movie. The movie is suppose to tackle the difficult topic of mental illness but the storyline is a caricature of what someone thinks mental illness looks like. It feels like someone had some money and decided to make a "cool" movie set in Saudi Arabia with no context or insight as to the story they wanted to tell.

A few more points: Montana is a state, not a city. LA did not turn into a desert like Saudi Arabia after an earthquake in the 90s. If you're going to depict the main character as working towards a PHD in Environmental Engineering and she's talking about the topic, don't describe it in a nonsensical way. Have a point. All around disappointing.

Honestly , Amateur work.

The author of the story did not bother with any construction to the story narrative , so eventually you will get lost in every scene that you will never connect with the other , moreover there was no specific narrative construction for every character .. so good luck if you could understand this mess .

The first scene: The night party which ended suddenly finding themselves in a sheep barn!!!! What does that mean?

Scene Two: a construction site with Random bulldozers chosen to be the site of a romantic conversation. Then morning comes , and the workers begin working around them with their presence raising no questions!! What does that mean?

The third scene: It is the worst of all, when a woman spoke to her in the hospital in the most random way , with a meaningless conversation! Basma ask her: Is the juice machine working? " the random lady " answers her that some things cannot be fixed! Basma then ask her if there is any hope to repair the machine? She answers, "My name is Amal " hope in Arabic ". Do you think there is Amal?" What the hell is this nonsense?

When I got to the middle of the film, I wondered: Who is the producer who has the courage to produce nonsense like this? But I understood when I saw that the producer is the same as the author, writer, and the leading actress...complete nonsense.

I understand that this is the first baby steps for the Saudi Film industry. Taking that into account makes us understand the pitfalls of the movie. The storyline is weak. The actors reactions are sometimes are unrealistic to the situations they are trying to depict.

Also, I am always hesitant whenever someone is trying to project their own experiences, interactions, memories into a movie, I am not sure if the story has anything to do with Fatima own life story but that is the sensation I got.

Finally, I was not sure what the main message of the movie was, Fatima did iterate a message at the closure but I was not sure that the movie actually delivered this message.

At the end, I applaude them for the effort and for better future productions.