Saudi Arabia is one of the most closed societies on earth. To see pictures of Riyadh and Mecca reminds us how little we know about a country that exercises so much influence. It’s almost as though the niqab, the garment that covers women’s bodies from top to toe, allowing only their eyes to be seen, is a metaphor for a society which can never be known or seen or understood.
As the title suggests, The Poetess is about a female Saudi poet, Hissa Hilal, who uses her fame as a platform to criticise the clergy. It’s a film about women’s rights in the world, and the muslim world in particular, but it’s also a film which demystifies a culture about which we, in the ‘West’ are so ignorant. This extends to the regional love of poetry, with the poetess acquiring her fame by appearing on a kind of X-Factor for poets in the Arab world. We also see her out shopping with her daughters, doing interviews for the BBC and other media outlets. Behind the veil, there’s a fierce and humourous intelligence, revealed through her interviews, but also through the poems she reads in the competition. How much courage does it take to criticise the clergy if you’re from Saudi Arabia? And to use your role on a massive regional TV show to do so? However, Hissa Hilal seems to do it without breaking sweat, suggesting that she might live in a society which marginalises women, but she personally doesn’t feel in any way intimidated.
Stefanie Brockhaus and Andreas Wolff’s film uses the structure of the TV competition to knit their compelling story together. It’s a great tale of an unassuming heroine, which expands our understanding of a closed world, and reaffirms the foolishness of any society which tries to make women into second class citizens.
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