Film

Wajib

Name: Wajib
Genre: Drama
Released: 2017
Cast: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik, Lama Tatour, Monera Shehadeh

Family drama

A deceptively simple film about a father and son driving through Nazareth delivering wedding invitations, wrestling with decades of unspoken hurt. Shot almost entirely inside a car, it transforms cramped quarters into a crucible for what remains between them when words finally come. Intimate, achingly funny, and about the weight of duty and love that never quite finds the right language.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slow, talky road movies where the real story sits in the gaps between two stubborn men, and the comedy arrives sideways out of their bickering.

Skip it if you need plot momentum, since most of the film is two men arguing through cramped car journeys, with little happening outside their talk.

What it asks of you: Settle in for under two hours that unspools at the pace of traffic, with long stretches of quiet, awkward silence doing much of the work.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

In Another Country2012

Hong Sang-soo's elliptical meditation on repetition and small emotional ruptures in relationships. Like Wajib, it finds profound comedy and sadness in how people circle around what they really mean to say.

But The narrative structure deliberately loops back on itself, which some find frustrating rather than revelatory. Requires patience with ambiguity.

Past Lives2023

Celine Song examines how distance, time, and duty reshape love between people bound by history. Quiet, observant, and devastatingly human—it shares Wajib's belief that small moments carry immense weight.

But Very slow and introspective. If you need plot momentum or clear emotional resolution, this will feel like it's withholding from you.

A Separation2011

Asghar Farhadi's masterpiece about a marriage fracturing under pressure, using confined spaces and dialogue to expose how misunderstanding calcifies between people. The same precision Wajib brings to a car.

But Relentlessly bleak and morally complex—there's no catharsis, just the slow recognition that good people can hurt each other irreparably.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Wajib

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives2010

Both films understand that the real drama happens in silence, in the space between people who share a history but not a language. Neither rushes to fix anything.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's film about an old man visited by the ghosts of people he loved, sitting together in comfortable silence. Like Wajib, it trusts that proximity and presence matter more than resolution. It's about time, memory, and the weight of what remains.

But Essentially plotless—things happen but nothing resolves. If you need narrative momentum or explanation, you will feel abandoned.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives poster

The Son2022

Florian Zeller's portrait of a father trying to understand his son's silence and suffering. Emotionally raw, formally inventive, and wrestling with the same question: how do you reach someone you made but cannot comprehend?

But The formal tricks occasionally overshadow the human story. Some scenes feel designed for effect rather than truth.

Minari2021

Lee Isaac Chung traces the fault lines in an immigrant family chasing the American dream, finding tenderness beneath conflict. Like Wajib, it honours both the duty that binds families and the dreams that pull them apart.

But Shifts perspective between family members; some find the tonal range unsettling rather than authentic.

The Father2020

Florian Zeller (again) immersing you in the subjective confusion of aging, where communication breaks down and presence becomes bewildering. A formal study in how love persists when understanding doesn't.

But Deliberately disorienting narrative structure is the entire point, which means it's exhausting by design.

BPM (Beats per Minute)2017

Robin Campillo's searing portrait of ACT UP activists wrestling with mortality, solidarity, and what we owe each other. Burns with moral urgency while staying grounded in specific, conflicted human relationships.

But Visceral and angry in ways that demand emotional stamina. Not a comfortable watch, and designed that way intentionally.

Synonyms2019

Nadav Lapid's bold, chaotic film about an Israeli man attempting to erase his identity in Paris. Structurally wild and tonally unpredictable, but genuinely grappling with displacement and belonging.

But Aggressively experimental and often incoherent by design. If you want a film to settle into, this resists that entirely.

Moonlight2016

Both understand that masculinity and duty often prevent people from saying the things that would actually save them. Both show this with tenderness rather than judgment.

Barry Jenkins traces a Black boy's life across three chapters, each a small revolution in form and feeling. Visually lush where Wajib is austere, but equally committed to showing how love and shame coexist in the same person without resolution.

But Fragmented across time; some viewers need a more linear emotional arc. The beauty can feel withholding if you're looking for catharsis.