This movie represents the Islamic Culture and Middle East in the wrong manner! It is on purpose to make the arabs and their religion look savages.
It represents the Muslim Woman as she is always abused, and her husband as an animal who deals with her violently. So that according to them, she always looks for a relationship outside marriage invisibly!! Also, she is always divorced or looking for a divorce. But ironicallly in reality, the western culture have a lot of divorce and family issues, as well as violence!! Despite the alleged woman freedom and liberty! hhhh
This image that they want to show in the movie is the wrong image. The woman in our culture is honored. Her husband should take care of her and their children, she could have a job in some cases but this is not mainly required from her. The husband should take care of all their expenses. The husband in our religion and culture must treat his wife gently and care for her, this the case for the whole family all the time. Sons of the woman here also must be good with her and their father as well, but the mother gets more attention. They have by islam more duties for their mother. Which makes her very honored and being taken care of very well.
If this represented image in the movie happens, then it happens in small percentage or individual cases, then it should not be represented as the default case for all Middle East and Islamic or Arabic countries. Even worse than this, happens in the western countries, and in bigger numbers!!
The ending is a "Poison in the Honey" as the proverb says. That she was happy with this relationship and she is more happy without any hijab.
First of all, this relationship is forbidden in all matters here. She cannot disclose her relationship at all, so she cannot be happy and the relationship will end soon enough. In islam, the woman cannot have a relationship outside an official marriage, and she cannot marry any non-muslim whatsoever, even if he was good or gentle as they are showing in the movie. So, this relationship is forbidden in all manners. And cannot lead the woman to be happy at all. They on purpose want to distort the hijab and make it look ugly. They assume that their western culture is superior to other cultures. And everyone in the world should take their liberty as superior to all religions or cultures. Which are showing the arrogance and high ego of western people as well as ignorance!
Honestly, the movie let me down and every Muslim feels the same. As no western countries in majority respect our religion or culture, and generalize narrow scenarios and picturing it as if it is the majority here in Islamic Countries. You are happy with your liberty good for you. And we are happy with our conservative society and religion.
Everyday with this fake "modern world", it proves that this is "The era of pettiness and superficiality"

Tom Hanks plays a fish-out-of-water businessman in this tale of culture shock, self-doubt and discovery. Set amidst the flat desert plains of Saudi Arabia, Hanks aims to mend his financial struggles by selling an absentee king on a gimmicky hologram-driven teleconferencing solution. Along the way, he encounters no shortage of roadblocks, be they personal, bureaucratic, cultural or medical, and eventually recognizes it as a growth opportunity.

This is a conflicted picture, much in the same way our leading man plays a conflicted individual. Nailing down a steady tone seems difficult; the film opens with a loose, cartoonish musical number, then settles into a fast-paced corporate shuffle before cutting that loose and becoming a warm-hearted buddy picture and, finally, a contemplative romance. All this in a very trim, quick ninety minutes.

Social norms are a steady focus, shining a flashlight on the immense gap between everyday life as an American and as a Saudi, but in the end it feels like those are only superficial, easily brushed aside to make way for a happy ending. That climax leaves us with dozens of loose ends, half-heartedly explored threads that are inspected and discarded like an inattentive child digging through his toybox. It all feels very loose and light, like we've read a summary but not the entire story. There's a compelling yarn buried somewhere within A Hologram for the King, but we only skim the surface. Interesting and original but quite limited.

**About a salesman who went to sell his product sold himself.**

I like this director, one of his film was in my all time favourite list. But I'm not sure what happened to him lately, he's not the same as what he was a decade ago. This is his worse to far I've seen. He's better than this, but he chose a wrong book. It was based on the book of the same name that tells the story of an American salesman whose last chance to get back on the track goes to saudiarabia to sell his product to the king. But the king's unexpected last minute reschedules avoids his meeting and so it continues like that for some time. In his those spare time, how he explores the desert country and its culture, including an unexpected feeling for a local lady doctor was told.

Seems a fine material for the reading, the cinematically it did not have the same appeal. I haven't read the book, but it is short and lacks in detail it deals. The main character remains a mystery for not properly revealing his history, especially for the no flashback, which would have put him is a good position. That's why it looks just a mid story, that begins in a mid way of someone's life. Though Tom Hanks was good, like usual in another unique role.

The film is about arebia, but it was shot in Morocco and Egypt. There's no big contribution from the supporting characters, except two. Sarita Choudury, especially Alexander Black transformed completely to a real areb and they both put a good show as well. The film was below average. Since it was a Hanks' film I anticipated something strong. It was something, but not the something I was looking for. Watchable film, but skipping it won't make any regret if you're okay with skipping an Hanks film. All the above his fans are very disappointed, so I hope his next film 'The Circle' would make us this one to forget.

4/10