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Hala

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for Hala R 2019 1h 34m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala struggles to balance desire with her family, cultural and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
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Hala

Hala

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Critics Consensus

Supported by a powerful central performance by Geraldine Viswanathan, Hala offers an insightful look at a young woman's journey of self-discovery.

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Critics Reviews

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Roxana Hadadi Pajiba 12/27/2019
How Hala allows its characters to navigate that messiness-how the film refuses to align itself with black and white presentations of "good" and "bad"-is intentional and commendable. Go to Full Review
Soraya Nadia McDonald NPR 12/11/2019
The film shines with a glorious commitment to the emotional evolution of its female characters, which James Sizemore's score accents with notes of subtle agony. Go to Full Review
Brad Newsome Sydney Morning Herald 12/04/2019
Young Australian Geraldine Viswanathan delivers a performance of tremendous poise, prowess and resonance in this affecting new coming-of-age film. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia 08/08/2021
5/10
The young lady's crisis is so routine that I no longer care what she does after half an hour. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Shikhar Verma High on Films 05/10/2021
2.5/5
With a genuinely moving and understated performance by Geraldine Viswanathan, the film still manages to evoke a certain reaction from the audience, even if it misses its mark quite often. Go to Full Review
Bianca Garner Next Best Picture 05/05/2021
8/10
Geraldine Viswanathan's central performance shines, and Minhal Baig's script brings a refreshing take on the "coming-of-age" narrative. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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June C 08/10/2024 I need to learn to go with my inner choices, ie, don't always listen to Rotten Tomatoes, Sorry. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The lead actress was brilliant. So don't listen too much to others opinions, go with your intuitions. See more kristine S 04/04/2024 It's lovely she is free, but what about the poor teacher? See more isla s 09/03/2022 This is a film about culture clashes - about a teenage girl of eastern descent having to integrate with her peers in the US without upsetting her conservative parents, who don't agree with her wearing clothes that aren't modest and hanging out with boys etc. I imagine a lot of people can relate to this. The protagonist speaks somewhat poetically about her ability to express herself and trying to find where she stands. I can only imagine the worry she must feel about how her parents will react to certain behaviours and time spent in certain ways - this is definitely a film made sensitively, not laughing at the subject matter at all but treating it well. Its not exactly original, storywise, of course but that's ok. It does pretty well at making the viewer feel emotionally concerned for what happens to the titular character, though it is quite a slow moving film, plot wise - its more of a subtle character driven domestic drama than anything else. Yes, I'd recommend this film. See more 04/13/2022 So this movie wasn't bad, but it was pretty white saviour-tier. They had no problem articulating her oppressive home-life and I like that they sort of went into the gendered dynamics underlying the relationship women of colour SAHMs often have with their spouses, but they didn't touch remotely on the experience of being a teenage immigrant amongst other white students (nothing on being bullied for not meeting eurocentric beauty standards, being ignored for standing out etc.). You can't really offer a nuanced take on what life is like for a second generation immigrant kid if the only thing you critique is how she doesn't fit in with her parents' culture and not, simultaneously, how she also doesn't fit in with the North American culture around her. It doesn't really do justice to the experience. Also, not all brown people are muslims - why are there literally no Hollywood movies about other Indians? In any case, there are so few movies about the desi experience in general, that ultimately it was still at least a little refreshing seeing one. See more jona i 02/12/2022 Honest, well-crafted, and interesting. It just never seems to fully ascend. See more 01/30/2021 This film is so two-dimensional and superficially plotted that it collapses under any real scrutiny, it's attempt at examination of a complex cultural subject clearly offending and polarising some of it's audience, and while I commend the young lead actor for bringing depth to her role with an expressive performance and proficient use of a skateboard (and I hope and imagine it will be a good launch-vehicle for her), despite her character's somewhat unbelievable choices, I am left bewildered and annoyed that this production that would not look out-of-place at a second-year film student's festival screening has achieved flagship platform positioning on Apple TV+ they must have been desperate for diverse content, fair enough, but I do not recommend you watch this film as it will probably leave you confused, annoyed and possibly offended! See more Read all reviews
Hala

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Movie Info

Synopsis Seventeen-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala struggles to balance desire with her family, cultural and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
Director
Minhal Baig
Producer
Minhal Baig, Clarence Hammond, James Lassiter, Jamal M. Watson
Screenwriter
Minhal Baig
Distributor
Apple, Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co
3 Arts Entertainment, Endeavor Content, Overbrook Entertainment
Rating
R (A Scene of Sexuality)
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 22, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 8, 2020
Runtime
1h 34m
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