Review: A rare glimpse at the indoor lives of Saudi women

Haifaa Al-Mansour gained worldwide acclaim in 2012 with “Wadjda,” about a Saudi girl aiming to own a bicycle

“All politics are local,” the saying goes. That’s a guiding principle in “The Perfect Candidate,” in which a doctor runs for town council purely to get the muddy dirt road in front of a medical clinic paved. But that saying comes from American politics. This is Saudi Arabia. Most importantly, the doctor (and candidate) is a woman. So the underlying issues in this film by pioneering Saudi director Haifaa Al-Mansour are about a lot more than paving a road. Al-Mansour gained worldwide acclaim in 2012 with “Wadjda,” about a young Saudi girl aiming to own a bicycle. It was the first feature directed by a Saudi woman, and the first shot entirely inside the kingdom. It also provided a rare glimpse at the lives of Saudi women. Nearly a decade later, “The Perfect Candidate” does much the same. In fact, its strength lies in the fascinating visual detail that fleshes out a rather formulaic script: the view we get once Saudi women go inside and remove the niqab, or facial veil, whether it's cooking with family at home or dancing at a gender-segregated wedding.