Cannes Review: Saim Sadiq’s ‘Joyland’

deadline.com:

A married man falls for a trans woman in Joyland, the first Pakistani feature to play in Cannes. Saim Sadiq’s atmospheric Un Certain Regard drama also explores a whole family, presenting a picture of a clan torn between modernity and tradition in contemporary Lahore.Haider (Ali Junejo) has a seemingly happy arranged marriage with Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq).

But when he gains work as a backing dancer for the glamorous trans performer Biba (Alina Khan), his eyes are opened to another way of life — and potentially another way of loving.

Meanwhile, his wife is frustrated with the expectations of the patriarchal society she lives in, and much less enthusiastic about the prospect of bringing another boy into the family (her sister-in-law has daughters, much to everyone’s disappointment).

The Joyland of the title is an amusement park which provides an escape for many of the group, whether dancing with a troupe or screaming out their pain on a fairground ride.