Joyland
Am I still invisible?
Joyland will be one of those movies that will definitely stick to me, it doesn't try to outdo itself, rather you get to see the world from the eyes of some characters, whose stories are all individually expanded upon as you move further into the story. This film depicts the ever known brown Pakistani societies, patriarchy, gender norms, toxic masculinity and femininity, which all feel so close to home. Literally crying as I write this.
With that aside I believe Joyland does an excellent job at reflecting on Haider's struggle with his own sexual orientation and Mumtaz's struggle to live her life her own way despite later on being forced to be a housewife. This movie depicts trans characters beautifully, however fails to continue with the trans activism in the later portion of the film, I don't know it just feels like Biba's entire character was abruptly dropped off with no role further in the story, but merely serving as a plot for Haider.
such a beautiful film, cried, smiled, stunning cinematography. Also love how much anxiety some scenes induce. Someone with a shit attention span like me finished the whole thing in one sitting, it's that beautiful.