Vague Visages’ Inshallah a Boy review contains minor spoilers. Amjad Al Rasheed’s 2023 movie features Mouna Hawa, Haitham Alomari and Yumna Marwan. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

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Kanamé Onoyama’s observational cinematography enriches every aspect of Inshallah a Boy. Directed by Amjad Al Rasheed, Jordan’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film revolves around the daily grind of Nawal (Mouna Hawa), a widow and single mother who seeks much-needed inheritance money. An opening cityscape pan establishes the film’s gender-centric symbolism, which in turn complements the layered character sketches and sociopolitical themes. Inshallah a Boy contrasts moody interior sequences with vibrant street scenes, allowing the audience to better understand Nawal’s frame of mind.

When Nawal’s husband, Adnan (Mohammad Suleiman), suddenly passes away during Inshallah a Boy’s first act, the deceased’s brother, Rifqi (Haitham Alomari), comes looking for late payments. The female protagonist subsequently learns about her late husband’s financial issues, and that she doesn’t have the necessary legal documents to keep her apartment. From act to act, male characters continuously disappoint Nawal — such as her brother, Ahmad (Mohammed Al Jizawi), and an admiring co-worker named Hassan (Eslam Al-Awadi) — and so she seeks emotional comfort from her daughter, Nora (Seleena Rababah), and a female colleague, Lauren (Yumna Marwan), who considers abandoning a stifling relationship. The protagonist can literally let her hair down during Inshallah a Boy’s interior scenes, and yet she faces immediate scrutiny outside her apartment, with street dwellers making rude statements while bureaucratic snakes lay down the law elsewhere. With her back against the wall, Nawal fakes a pregnancy in order to protect her best interests.

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Inshallah a Boy’s beautiful color design within Nawal’s apartment clashes with the character dialogue. For example, the appearance of a hungry mouse prompts conversations about impurity and “dirty” living. Plus, it’s revealed that Nawal failed to thank Rifqi for covering funeral costs. So, whenever light shines in from the outside — captured poignantly by the aforementioned Onoyama — a portrait of a strong yet traumatized woman emerges, especially as a place of comfort transforms into a place of absolute stress. Al Rasheed, with his tight character framing, captures the mundanity of daily routines (standard operating procedure for films about struggling individuals searching for inner peace), which may seem boring to some viewers without the fluid exterior cinematography that boots numerous street scenes. And though Inshallah a Boy briefly hints at water scarcity throughout Jordan, the narrative could’ve used a little more cultural context to complement themes of misogyny, emotional isolation and sexual thirst.

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Whereas many filmmakers and performers often force emotion on viewers — either through an excessive use of needle-drops (see True Detective: Night Country) or heavy melodrama — Al Rasheed and his lead create conflict through reactionary moments. Nawal desperately seeks assistance from the outside — through nature, through powerful men — but knows that salvation will come through sheer willpower. Inshallah a Boy ultimately posits a timely question to international audiences: does the end justify the means in this specific tale about Jordanian culture and perceived sins?

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Inshallah a Boy will get overlooked during Oscar season, due to the charm of Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (2023), the suspense of Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall (2023) and the character idealism of Celine Song’s Past Lives (2023); however, Al Rasheed’s feature directorial debut succeeds through its cultural specificities, enlightening cinematography and authentic performances. Inshallah a Boy hopefully won’t slip through the cracks like its protagonist.

Inshallah a Boy screened from January 2012, 2024 to February 8, 2024 at Film Forum in New York City. 

Q.V. Hough (@QVHough) is Vague Visages’ founding editor.

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