Haifaa al-Mansour is the first Saudi female director of a feature length film. Her ability to get the film made is embedded in Wadjda's journey for the green bicycle in the story. She overcame the nature of women's voices to be oppressed in order to tell this story.
She shoots the picture in a neorealism style, and you can see the influence of Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves upon the composition and narrative of the film. al-Mansour shot every frame in Saudi Arabia in order to give it the authentic feel she desired to create. She uses natural light in order to light the scenes, and practical lighting for the night scenes (e.g. the garage light when Mother reveals she's purchased the green bicycle for Wadjda). Mrs. al-Mansour also composes shots with the upmost of care, utilizing leading lines from the surroundings of the town in which Wadjda lives. We can see this in the scene where Wadjda sees the green bicycle for the first time. As she walks through a lot, the rocks that lay on the ground point Wadjda towards the bicycle in the distance. The imagery is quite easy to overlook, but Mrs. al-Mansour takes great pains to create a shot that is visually beautiful without being overt. Her work stands out to match shots of De Sica's and Truffaut in their simple, yet impactful styles.
Mrs. al-Mansour gives voice to the women of Saudi Arabia, to the difficulties that are imposed upon them to be mere shadows in society, and how this oppression leads to other women, such as Ms. Hussa oppressing more women to follow the rules of society. The director pulls back the veil and shows us life and possibility through the eyes of a child.
