Desert Flower (2009) was co-written and directed by Sherry Hormann. It's based on a biographical novel by Waris Dirie. The topic is horrible--female genital mutilation. Waris Dirie had this terrible surgery inflicted on her when she was three years old.
The plot unfolds from the moment Waris is--essentially--sold by her family to be the fourth wife of an old man. She runs away. After many misadventures, she emerges as a model and advocate against female genital mutilation.
Liya Kebede--herself a super-model--portrays Waris Dirie. (Dirie is from Somalia, Kebede is from Ethiopia.) Kebede--as Dirie--is referred to in the movie as "the most beautiful woman in the world." That, of course, is a matter of opinion, but you can see why she has appeared on the cover of Vogue three times. Not only is she beautiful, but she can act.
Sally Hawkins portrays Marilyn, Waris's mentor and friend. I've never said a bad word about Sally Hawkins. I think she's great. However, somehow I couldn't accept her as an aspiring dancer. Her character just didn't work for me. I'll continue to think that Hawkins is great, and just assume she was in the wrong part in the wrong movie.
On the other hand, Timothy Spall as a fashion photographer was perfectly cast. He commanded every scene in which he appeared. (Not easy when Liya Kabede is in the same scene.)
The horror of female genital mutilation is hard to contemplate. However, it won't go away until it becomes socially unacceptable. Desert Flower is definitely a step in that direction.
Desert Flower has a solid IMDb rating of 7.4. I thought it was better than that, and rated it 9.
The plot unfolds from the moment Waris is--essentially--sold by her family to be the fourth wife of an old man. She runs away. After many misadventures, she emerges as a model and advocate against female genital mutilation.
Liya Kebede--herself a super-model--portrays Waris Dirie. (Dirie is from Somalia, Kebede is from Ethiopia.) Kebede--as Dirie--is referred to in the movie as "the most beautiful woman in the world." That, of course, is a matter of opinion, but you can see why she has appeared on the cover of Vogue three times. Not only is she beautiful, but she can act.
Sally Hawkins portrays Marilyn, Waris's mentor and friend. I've never said a bad word about Sally Hawkins. I think she's great. However, somehow I couldn't accept her as an aspiring dancer. Her character just didn't work for me. I'll continue to think that Hawkins is great, and just assume she was in the wrong part in the wrong movie.
On the other hand, Timothy Spall as a fashion photographer was perfectly cast. He commanded every scene in which he appeared. (Not easy when Liya Kabede is in the same scene.)
The horror of female genital mutilation is hard to contemplate. However, it won't go away until it becomes socially unacceptable. Desert Flower is definitely a step in that direction.
Desert Flower has a solid IMDb rating of 7.4. I thought it was better than that, and rated it 9.