Mandoob shines a light on Saudi Arabia’s underbelly

Daniel Nelson

How do you see Saudi Arabia: seemingly limitless oil, wealth beyond imagination, awesome skyscrapers, groups of men in thobes?

All part of the picture. But there’s an underbelly, too, less glitzy, much rougher. It’s the setting for a new Saudi thriller, Mandoob.

The main character Farhad Algadaani, is a call centre operator trying to earn enough to pay for his father’s medical needs and to set up home with his girlfriend. He’s fired and becomes a courier, a mandoob. Through a snatch of conversation and a bit of sleuthing he discovers an illegal money-making activity in Riyadh that he - and we - have not previously seen. Director Ali Kalthami has said: “Knocking on doors, Fahad is almost like a kind of journalist for the city.” 

It’s a struggle, and as a lucky break turns sour, potentially dangerous. His principles and his sanity are squeezed.

This is Saudi noir, dark, moody, pacy, with a mesmerising performance at its heart by Mohammed Dokhei. (“Who’s this psycho?” “Don’t be like that, he’s sweet.”)

It’s noirishly fascinating and offers a chance to glimpse an underworld of ride-sharing, bootlegging, partying and the pressures on ordinary people’s working lives.

It’s also a testament to the Saudi authorities, or at least to a small aspect of the approach to the changes set in motion by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that the film grading board passed it for public screening and described it as one of the country’s best ever films.

+ Interview with director Ali Kalthami: https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/22/ali-kalthami-subversive-new-saudi-thriller-mandoob ‘I felt like the gates of something huge had opened’: Ali Kalthami on his subversive new Saudi thriller