Joyland

Like a long hug that turns into something more but breaks like a heart when you separate. It's rare that a man is able to write and film women with such finesse, yet Saim Sadiq delivers. Perhaps it's because Joyland is ostensibly about a meek, house husband who lands a job as a backup dancer for the transgender performer Biba (played to perfection by stunning transgender actress Alina Khan). Very quickly, however, we realize the female roles are the only characters with any real depth, starting with the dancer's wife -- a strong and independent woman who must come to terms with the reality that food the gaps her husband's absences create. Whereas the men are all superficial, stereotypical place holders, the women of Joyland are the driving force of the film and a Pakistani society not aware enough to understand this obvious truth. (Joyland won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes 2022 and is Pakistan's entry for best foreign film at the next Oscars.)