In the span of two hours, this Netflix original movie takes viewers through four vignettes, each showing Saudi men and women dealing with precarious modern predicaments, and each featuring a fish-out-of-water interaction with a close companion.
The dark comedy is the first Saudi movie to be created for the streaming giant. It premiered at the International Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah in 2022, and has been the No.1 Netflix movie in the Kingdom since it was made available to viewers in mid-January.
The Arabic-language film’s anecdotes paint a picture of how Saudi Arabia used to be. With local dialects and references that Saudis of a certain age will recall, the jokes are dark and full of meaning. The humor is timeless, yet seems frozen in an era not too long ago, but far enough away that we can see it with fresh eyes.
The film serves almost as a digital time capsule, reminding us of a period when the Kingdom was not as open as it is today. The title is a nod to the film’s humble beginnings on YouTube. In Arabic, the word “khallat” means blender. In many ways, it is an apt name since the film is a blend of mixed-up stories.
In the first, a humble home is preparing for a wedding, a chaotic celebration that is full of unexpected family drama.
The second story takes place at a upmarket restaurant, and appears to be a sort of loose nod to the American romantic comedy “The Parent Trap,” in which a child attempts to reunite separated parents through dining.
The third story starts abruptly at the scene of a car accident where a husband has been killed, while the final vignette, the only one set outside the Kingdom, shows the misadventures of a frugal family man staying in a complimentary hotel room.
Find it on Netflix MENA.
