Rent Joyland (2022)

3.8 of 5 from 87 ratings
2h 6min
Rent Joyland Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Set in bustling Lahore, the Ranases are, on the surface, a functional, patriarchal family. The household is made up of Abbas (Salmaan Peerzada), the elderly father, the older brother, Saleem (Sameer Sohail) and his wife Nucchi (Sarwat Gilani), and younger brother Haider (Ali Junejo) and his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq). Much to the embarrassment of his traditional father, Haider is the one in his relationship who stays at home, whilst Mumtaz goes to work at the salon every day, which she loves. When Haider gets a job in an erotic theatre as a backup dancer for trans starlet, Biba (Alina Khan), everything changes, and the cracks that have always been there, start to tear the family apart.
Mumtaz, dutifully, has to become the stay-at-home wife she never wanted to be, whilst her husband enjoys his new found freedom. Haider starts to secretly date Biba, and is away from home more and more. Meanwhile, Mumtaz feels more and more alienated. Both Haider and Mumtaz suffer from the same social frustrations of having to adhere to the traditional norms of the society they live in, whilst both yearning for social and sexual freedom. This tension will ultimately result in Mumtaz taking her own life- the only thing she feels she has control over- and taking with it, the life of the so-wanted Ranas unborn baby boy.
Actors:
Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, , , Sameer Sohail, Sania Saeed, Ramiz Law, , Priya Usman Khan, , Shahbaz Rafiq, Iftikhar India, Umar Fiaz, Pakeeza Batool, Eeshal Ali, Shiza Moin, Muhammad Usman Malik, Sohail Sameer
Directors:
Saim Sadiq
Producers:
Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, Lauren Mann, Kathryn M. Moseley, Katharina Otto-Bernstein, Oliver Ridge, April Shih, Sabiha Sumar
Writers:
Saim Sadiq, Maggie Briggs
Genres:
Drama
Countries:
Pakistan
BBFC:
Release Date:
Not released
Run Time:
126 minutes
Languages:
Urdu
Subtitles:
None
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
26/06/2023
Run Time:
126 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description, Urdu Dolby Digital 2.0, Urdu Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • A Q&A with Saim Sadiq and Ashanti Omkar
  • Faith a poem by Imaan Sultan West
  • Darling by Saim Sadiq
  • Trailers

More like Joyland

Reviews (1) of Joyland

Brave and sensitive study of gender and sexuality in modern Pakistan - Joyland review by PD

Spoiler Alert
14/02/2024

That a country like Pakistan could produce a film like Joyland is, in itself, pretty remarkable. The centre of the film’s story — of an unorthodox, extra-marital relationship between a married man and trans woman — unpredictably caused a huge stir in its country of origin, where conservative religious values hold sway and LGBTQ rights remain woefully backwards: the film ended up being banned by the government there, only to be unbanned (with some scenes censored) after voices as loud as Amnesty International and Malala Yousafzai spoke up.

From an 'objective' point of view, the film is a thoughtful, nuanced and sensitive story, and a deeply considered exploration of how modern ideas of gender and sexuality sit awkwardly in a rigidly traditional society that still expects marriages to be arranged and men to be breadwinners, women to be homemakers. It is, above anything else, a well - pitched character study, told with a formidable ensemble of actors, and a script that treats each role with respect and consideration. Most impressive by far is Alina Khan as Biba, depicted as a transgender woman with real agency and power, in a culture that can treat her like a second-class citizen. She is tough and sharp-tongued — we get brief glimpses of Lahore’s khwaja sira (“third gender”) community that supports and sustains her — but vulnerable and flawed, too. Khan is an amazing find: making her feature debut here (like many on the cast list), her screen presence is very powerful indeed, and means that we can easily see how Haider (Ali Junejo) soon falls under Biba’s spell. Under pressure from his father to meet certain societal expectations (get a job, provide a son), Haider accepts a gig at an erotic dance show, initially, it seems, just to prove he’s not a washout. He is a gentle soul and, it’s implied, somewhere on the gay spectrum — but his extra-marital affair with Biba is played out without sensationalism. He is tenderly protective of Biba, while also grappling with a sexual and romantic desire he doesn’t fully comprehend. In another, more 'soapy' film, Haider’s wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq, also very good, and another feature first-timer) might have been little more than a ‘wronged-woman’ caricature, but she gets layers to her, too: trapped by the patriarchal system that suffocates her own desires.

However, Mumtaz becomes the unexpected focus of the film’s final act, and therein lies the film's major problem, for it takes an unexpectedly tragic turn with the result that, after all the subtlety of what came before, the film’s conclusion is unduly melodramatic and thus of course significantly undermines its power. Nevertheless, a brave and impressive work.

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