by Joseph Davis, Contributing Writer

Sometimes I have a pretty good idea of something to watch for Out of Market. Other times, I let random chance and some browsing on streaming services have a chance. This time around it was the latter, as I did some searching for something that might be unique to this series. That is when I stumbled upon a movie on Netflix that greatly intrigued me: Alkhallat+. The first Saudi Arabian film I’ve ever seen, it felt worthwhile to take a chance and see what this film had to offer. As an anthology, each about liars and hiding the truth, I also decided that it would be best to take a short amount of time and discuss each part on its own, briefly discussing the good and bad of each section of this film.

The first section occurs during the night of a wedding, as the family of the bride prepares to go to the ceremony only for a few criminals to affect their plans. This part is one I greatly enjoyed, mostly because it mostly does a great job of providing moments of comedy with sudden and effective moments of tension to snap your attention back to the predicament at hand. You’ll think for a brief moment that the trio we’re following is about to solve their problem, when suddenly and unexpectedly, something happens to foil their plan. Probably my favorite part of this segment is one that Netflix previewed for me, where you have that moment of extreme tension ratcheting up, only for it to be immediately broken by something I didn’t expect to see. All of that with some great acting, if this had been more than a 30 or so minute short segment, it might have been quite the sight to see.

The second part of this one occurs in a restaurant where a daughter tries to help her father win back over her mother. This segment does have some good acting from our central character and her friend as they try to make the night of her parents’ lives. I also found it interesting in a cultural sense. It ends with a few good messages, one that is beautiful and one that tends to sneak up on you. However, the pacing makes parts of the segment feel a bit clunky. It is still intriguing to watch as you wonder what’s about to happen in the end, but it just doesn’t quite reach as high a bar as the first segment. That and the way it jumps into the third story is far more jarring than I had expected.

In the third segment, on that note, we find a wife mourning the loss of her husband, and his friend trying to prevent her from learning something about her late husband. I’ll admit, the tonal shift between the first two segments and this third one is, as I said above, jarring. However, I feel the motivations of the characters work, and the flow is much better. As it goes on, you can really begin to feel like something is gonna have to give one way or another by the end of it, and you’re not sure which. I found it very entertaining to see, and it does provide a bit of perspective how different things are from one person to another.

The fourth segment, where a man sneaks his kids into a hotel with him, honestly might be my favorite one of these. Quite literally one thing begins to compound on another, as both father and son make choices that immediately begin to snowball out of control. It’s in this story where things suddenly and unexpectedly go unhinged, as they begin to grow more and more chaotic. It’s funny, and the actors’ reactions as things go more and more awry feel both genuine and extremely funny. It’s probably the one segment that fits perfectly in the anthology format more than the rest. It’s a wild ride that fits beautifully in the half hour or so it needs to be in, because I can’t even begin to think of any way to be able to expand the story on its own without somehow taking away from it.

Overall, I’d say that this one is worth taking the time to explore. It’s unique, it’s got several very fun and funny moments, and while it has its weaknesses it’s a good bar to set for any future Saudi films that may appear on Netflix. Admittedly, I had my reservations going into this one, especially knowing some significant differences between life and culture here and in Saudi Arabia that is tense to discuss, to put it mildly, but as a piece of entertainment, it’s extremely successful.

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