“Ameen has crafted a vibrant homage to generations of Saudi Arabian women and a culture that is rarely represented on-screen with such specificity.”

In 2001, twelve-year-old Janna (Lamar Faden) is accompanying her rebellious older sister Sarah (Raghad Bokhari) and devout grandmother Sitti (Khairiah Nathmy) as they perform Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. When Sarah runs away during the first stop of the pilgrimage, Janna and Sitti are plunged into a search that will transform their relationship. Accompanied by reluctant driver Ahmed (Nawaf Al-Dhufairy), they race against the clock to find Sarah before tragedy befalls her or word reaches the girls’ zealot father, who looms over the film as a force threatening to take away the relative freedom that the sisters enjoy in their daily lives. Although Hijra occasionally flirts with the codes of a tense thriller, it is above all a meditative tale of a grandmother and granddaughter coming together and gaining a greater understanding of each other and their family history.

Throughout Janna and Sitti’s journey, they travel across Saudi Arabia and meet a variety of people, highlighting the cultural diversity of the country and its complicated relationship with neighboring Egypt. The film also showcases many elements of the Hajj pilgrimage and its history, as it becomes clearer over the course of the film why Sitti holds it so dear to her.  Criss-crossing Saudi Arabia from south to north, the cinematography lovingly highlights diverse locales such as bustling city centers, awe-inspiring yet desolate deserts, the historic paths to Mecca, and the snowy Tabuk mountains. And at a time when Islam and Middle Eastern countries are being vilified in Western media, the film provides a much-needed counterbalance to that narrative in showcasing the strength and connection to family and culture that many draw from Islam, while also not shying away from the negative aspects of the more orthodox strains and how it creates a hyper-restrictive environment for women in particular.

The heart of the film is the relationship between Janna and Sitti, thanks to two wonderful central performances. Lamar Faden impressively anchors the film as Janna, bringing to life the awkwardness and curiosity of an adolescent being thrust into a situation that she doesn’t entirely understand and forced to grow wise beyond her years. Janna must confront her family history and her fears big and small – of camels, of losing her sister forever – and by the end of the film there is the sense that she has truly grown from these experiences and has a much greater appreciation for her grandmother and her culture, even as the film refuses to tie up every thread with a happy ending. As the stubborn and determined Sitti, Khairiah Nathmy is a transfixing presence as she calmly but steadfastly embarks on the quest to find Sarah. In the opening scenes she appears to be the typical strict, religious grandmother, and while her prickly nature never fully dissipates, as the film progresses Nathmy beautifully modulates her performance to show how Sitti is fiercely protective of her family and draws great strength from her religion and culture. While the film never loses sight of the reason that Janna and Sitti are travelling across Saudi Arabia, there’s a real pleasure in watching them spend time together and engage in an unexpected intergenerational transmission, as Sitti teaches Janna about the wonders of the natural world and reveals family secrets that she has kept closely guarded since childhood. And Nawaf Al-Dhufairy is a roguishly charming scene-stealer as Ahmed, who slowly grows attached to his reluctant charges. The scenes of him and Janna bonding give the film some much-needed warmth, which makes the unsatisfying end to his arc all the more frustrating.

Although Hijra makes several narrative choices that won’t satisfy every viewer, Shahad Ameen has crafted a vibrant homage to generations of Saudi Arabian women and a culture that is rarely represented on-screen with such specificity. Janna may be embarking on a pilgrimage different from the one that she was expecting, but it proves equally transforming and rewarding.