National Geographic Entertainment
Liya Kebede, left, and Sally Hawkins in “Desert Flower.”
By NEIL GENZLINGER
Published: March 17, 2011
“Desert Flower,” a well-made film that depicts the remarkable life of the model Waris Dirie, manages to be both a classic feel-good story and about as far from a feel-good story as you can get.
More About This Movie
Ms. Dirie escaped an impoverished childhood in Somalia and, largely through serendipity, became a sought-after model. Eventually, in a magazine interview, she told of being forced to undergo ritual female circumcision as a young girl, a brutal process also known, more accurately, as female genital mutilation. She became a United Nations spokeswoman against the practice.
Liya Kebede, herself a model, gives a credible performance as Ms. Dirie, who fled her family at 13 to avoid a forced marriage and ended up in London. Sally Hawkins is a treat as the salesclerk who reluctantly befriends her there, and Timothy Spall provides his usual quirkiness as the photographer who discovers her scrubbing floors in a humble restaurant.
The film, based on Ms. Dirie’s memoir of the same title, is heartening both for Ms. Dirie’s rise-and-overcome tale and for the reminder that a helping hand from a stranger can still occasionally be found in this unkind world. But, of course, it’s also disheartening because of what was done to Ms. Dirie, a moment revisited in a hard-to-watch flashback. The film makes bluntly clear that this is a trauma that lasts a lifetime.
“Desert Flower” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for sexual situations and the scenes related to genital mutilation.
DESERT FLOWER
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Directed by Sherry Hormann; written by Ms. Hormann, based on the book by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller; director of photography, Ken Kelsch; edited by Clara Fabry; music by Martin Todsharow; production design by Jamie Leonard; costumes by Gabriele Binder; produced by Peter Herrmann; released by National Geographic Entertainment. In English and Somali, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 4 minutes.
WITH: Liya Kebede (Waris Dirie), Sally Hawkins (Marilyn), Timothy Spall (Donaldson), Juliet Stevenson (Lucinda), Craig Parkinson (Neil), Anthony Mackie (Harold), Meera Syal (Pushpa Patel) and Soraya Omar-Scego (Young Waris).
Liya Kebede, herself a model, gives a credible performance as Ms. Dirie, who fled her family at 13 to avoid a forced marriage and ended up in London. Sally Hawkins is a treat as the salesclerk who reluctantly befriends her there, and Timothy Spall provides his usual quirkiness as the photographer who discovers her scrubbing floors in a humble restaurant.
The film, based on Ms. Dirie’s memoir of the same title, is heartening both for Ms. Dirie’s rise-and-overcome tale and for the reminder that a helping hand from a stranger can still occasionally be found in this unkind world. But, of course, it’s also disheartening because of what was done to Ms. Dirie, a moment revisited in a hard-to-watch flashback. The film makes bluntly clear that this is a trauma that lasts a lifetime.
“Desert Flower” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for sexual situations and the scenes related to genital mutilation.
DESERT FLOWER
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Directed by Sherry Hormann; written by Ms. Hormann, based on the book by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller; director of photography, Ken Kelsch; edited by Clara Fabry; music by Martin Todsharow; production design by Jamie Leonard; costumes by Gabriele Binder; produced by Peter Herrmann; released by National Geographic Entertainment. In English and Somali, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 4 minutes.
WITH: Liya Kebede (Waris Dirie), Sally Hawkins (Marilyn), Timothy Spall (Donaldson), Juliet Stevenson (Lucinda), Craig Parkinson (Neil), Anthony Mackie (Harold), Meera Syal (Pushpa Patel) and Soraya Omar-Scego (Young Waris).
1 comment:
I'm really enjoying the theme/design of your site. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility problems? A number of my blog audience have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any suggestions to help fix this issue?
Also visit my site get more followers
Post a Comment