Mandoob (Night Courier)
The world of bootlegging in Riyadh is opened up in Ali Kalthami’s directorial debut, notable for a star-making turn from Mohammed Aldokhei.
Image courtesy of Metis Films.
When cinemas in Saudi Arabia were allowed to open in 2018 it ended a ban that had lasted for thirty years or more. With the public no longer restricted to watching movies at home, the Saudi film industry has since then upped its output considerably and Mandoob is one of a number of home-grown movies to do well at the Saudi box office. Indeed, this first feature from Ali Kalthami – director and co-writer with Mohammed Algarawi – had the most successful opening of any film made in that country. It now arrives in the U.K retaining its original title which, as is announced in the opening credits, has two meanings: a mandoob is somebody whose work is to deliver packages such as pizzas but it is also a term that describes someone who is mourned due to their death or misfortune. There is even a third interpretation of the word that is added at the film’s close and which is relevant to its central character so, even though in some quarters the film is known as Night Courier, retaining the original title makes the best sense.
The huge response that the film received in Saudi Arabia may partly be explained by the fact that it puts Riyadh on the screen in a way that shows the poorer people who live there and who often struggle to survive in the mean streets of the city. Such a man is the mandoob Fahad Algadaani (Mohammed Aldokhei) who when the story starts is also working in a call centre run by Abu Saud (a role taken by Kalthami’s co-writer). However, Fahad is reprimanded for the way he has been handling calls, blows his top and in addition to being dismissed finds himself facing legal proceedings. This could hardly be more unfortunate because this is a time when he is seeking to obtain treatment for his ailing father (Mohammed Alttowayan) who is suffering from kidney failure.
Mandoob is a film that could well have been presented in terms that emphasise the downbeat nature of the story by stressing the inherent social concerns. Equally it could have become a drama with a strong thriller element as Fahad finds himself in danger. Both possibilities are present because the key plot development shows Fahad succumbing under pressure to a chance opportunity to make money that is very risky indeed. Now also needing money in connection with the court action against him and reduced to his night work delivering pizzas, he stumbles across somebody who is dealing in the illicit sale of alcohol to those who can afford it. He follows this man and seizes crates of whisky which he then sets out to sell himself. In the course of stealing these goods his identity becomes known to those running this trade and consequently they are out to get him. Indeed, the film having opened with scenes which have featured a relaxed visit to a fairground by Fahad and his sister Sara (Hajar Alshamari) and her young daughter Yasam (Amani Alsami) has then introduced a note of menace as Fahad responses anxiously to a phone call. This hint of real trouble is a preface and the main narrative that follows it takes us back two weeks so that we can see just what it is that has landed Fahad in a situation which is so very dangerous for him.
For a first feature Mandoob reveals Kalthami as a director who is technically adept, but the screenplay is one that lets the film down. Nevertheless, in one rather unexpected way it does succeed aided by the fact that the film’s leading player, Mohammed Aldokhei, is exceptionally talented. Well known in Saudi Arabia, he is noted for comedy but, as is apparent here, he can also play drama and get deep into a role. The surprise in the film’s approach lies in the extent to which despite the serious theme the character of Fahad incorporates so much that is warmly engaging in a humorous way. The early scenes when Fahad gets sacked from his job in the call centre illustrate perfectly Aldokhei’s ability to use facial expressions in a manner that makes Fahad’s behaviour and evasions delightfully comic yet without undermining the credibility of the character.
But, if this blend is notably successful, the other aspects of the storytelling are much less so. The main plot-line keeps getting sidetracked as the film wanders off to incorporate scenes of Fahad’s sister trying to set up a business project and competing to get financial help for it. The sister is divorced, a step that has not met with Fahad’s approval, but this further thread is hardly developed and the various scenes with family members too often lack the depth of characterisation which would give them weight. As it is, we are all too often taken away from what really counts, that being the way in which Fahad’s anxieties lead him down a route that bodes ill. Furthermore, the sense of threat to Fahad that develops lacks the full degree of tension that it ought to have.
Mandoob is clearly well intentioned and it is interesting to see a film from Saudi Arabia even if it is not in the same class as Haifa Al-Mansour’s remarkable Wadjda (2012). Nevertheless, there is here a strong sense of a project falling short due to the failure to shape the narrative to best effect. But there are no qualifications whatever to be made when it comes to the performance of Mohammed Aldokhei: Mandoob introduces us to a star, a man who combines real acting skill with a wholly engaging personal appeal.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Mohammed Aldokhei, Mohammed Alttowayan, Hajar Alshammari, Sarah Taibah, Mohammed Algarawi, Layla Malik, Abu Salu, Amani Alsami, Fahad Alghuriri, Mohammed Alajmy, Ahmed Alturki, Ali Kalthami.
Dir Ali Kalthami, Pro Abdulrahman Jerash and Chawki Knis, Screenplay Ali Kalthami and Mohammed Algarawi, Ph Ahmed Tahoun, Pro Des Nirvana El Shenawi, Ed Fakhreddine Amri, Music Mike and Fabien Kourtzer, Costumes Nada Adel.
Telfaz 11/Muvi Studios-Metis Films.
112 mins. Saudi Arabia. 2023. UK Rel: 30 August 2024. Cert. 15.
