Desert Flower
2/4
Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson
Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language
The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable. The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it. This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say.
As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter. This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor. Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation.
Waris experienced a lot in her life. Telling it all in a coherent vision escapes Hormann's talents. The film is episodic and never seems to really delve into the important events in the life of one extraordinary woman. We see snapshots of her modeling career, her marriage of convenience, and her life in Somalia. But Hormann never shows us anything about these events that we haven't seen before in other movies. Crises are resolved too quickly. People in the modeling world are arrogant jerks. Her marriage is miserable. Well, so what? If we haven't seen the details before, it feels like we have seen the big picture.
One thing that the film does get right is the performance of Liya Kebede. An Ethiopian model-turned-actress, Kebede shines in an underwritten role. Waris is shy and naiive, but she is smart and learns fast. She has a tremendous amount of natural screen presence and bears a striking similarity to the real woman she's portraying. Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, a super prickly Juliet Stevenson and a pre-famous Anthony Mackie all appear in underwritten roles.
Ultimately, the film's failings have to do with Hormann's scattershot focus. Is it a story of her modeling career? Her sham of a marriage? Her role as a UN Ambassador? It tries to be all of them and the thin screenplay and clumsy editing make sure that it is none of them. The badly integrated flashbacks cause further damage to the film's narrative flow.
You'd be better off reading a Wikipedia article instead.
Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson
Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language
The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable. The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it. This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say.
As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter. This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor. Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation.
Waris experienced a lot in her life. Telling it all in a coherent vision escapes Hormann's talents. The film is episodic and never seems to really delve into the important events in the life of one extraordinary woman. We see snapshots of her modeling career, her marriage of convenience, and her life in Somalia. But Hormann never shows us anything about these events that we haven't seen before in other movies. Crises are resolved too quickly. People in the modeling world are arrogant jerks. Her marriage is miserable. Well, so what? If we haven't seen the details before, it feels like we have seen the big picture.
One thing that the film does get right is the performance of Liya Kebede. An Ethiopian model-turned-actress, Kebede shines in an underwritten role. Waris is shy and naiive, but she is smart and learns fast. She has a tremendous amount of natural screen presence and bears a striking similarity to the real woman she's portraying. Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, a super prickly Juliet Stevenson and a pre-famous Anthony Mackie all appear in underwritten roles.
Ultimately, the film's failings have to do with Hormann's scattershot focus. Is it a story of her modeling career? Her sham of a marriage? Her role as a UN Ambassador? It tries to be all of them and the thin screenplay and clumsy editing make sure that it is none of them. The badly integrated flashbacks cause further damage to the film's narrative flow.
You'd be better off reading a Wikipedia article instead.
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