‘Joyland’: How Is This Saim Sadiq’s First Feature?

In addition to directing with consummate panache, his screenplay admits to a level of emotional and sociological nuance that is the litmus test for dividing melodrama from the insinuating truths of art.

Via Oscilloscope Laboratories
Ali Junejo and Rasti Farooq in ‘Joyland.’ Via Oscilloscope Laboratories

Invoking the dictionary definition of a particular word as an introduction to the topic at hand is, famously, the hoariest of journalistic tropes. Here’s a close second: applying Leo Tolstoy’s thoughts about family, as laid out in “Anna Karenina,” to a discussion about the intricacies of any sort of community. Repeat after me: “All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family….”

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