Rubaiyat Hossain’s latest film The Difficult Bride premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, becoming the first Bangladeshi feature to compete in the festival’s Orizzonti section.
The film has since drawn attention from several international publications, with critics praising its visual language, feminist themes and performances while also raising questions about its screenplay and character development.
In its review, IndieWire praised the film’s depiction of class disparity in Dhaka. Set largely inside a luxury beauty parlour, the film contrasts its polished interiors, expensive fabrics and elaborate decorations with the rundown streets, hawkers, street dwellers and child beggars outside.
The publication also compared the film’s body-horror elements with Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. Zaineen Chowdhury Karim plays Zaineen, a bride-to-be facing mounting pressure to achieve an idealised appearance before her wedding, while Azmeri Haque Badhon plays the beauty parlour manager who scrutinises her body for perceived imperfections.
IndieWire praised the film’s technical execution but felt that its exploration of beauty, the body, class, female freedom and social inequality did not always go deep enough. The review argued that some of the questions raised by the story receive relatively simple resolutions.
Screen Daily described The Difficult Bride as a “sharp feminist body horror” in which a fairytale-style Bangladeshi wedding gradually turns into a nightmare. The review highlighted Hossain’s use of horror to examine the pressures surrounding marriage and the expectations imposed on women’s bodies.
The publication also praised the film’s striking visual approach and its ability to turn familiar wedding rituals into something increasingly disturbing.
Outlook India, however, gave the film two out of five stars, describing it as an undercooked psychological horror whose screenplay fails to match Leonor Teles’ striking cinematography.
The review praised Hossain’s depiction of the bodily violence and social expectations surrounding bridal beautification, particularly the pressure placed on Zaineen by her family and the beauty parlour.
It also highlighted the film’s use of lizards, snakes, snails and other creatures as manifestations of her growing discomfort.
However, the critic felt the screenplay was too blunt and that the film struggled to develop its psychological and social themes with sufficient depth.
The International Cinephile Society offered a more positive assessment. In a review by Shahran Morshed, the film was praised for refusing to soften its ideas and for allowing its feminist themes to become strange, disturbing and confrontational.
The review particularly highlighted the supernatural elements, noting how Zaineen’s body, surroundings and psychological state gradually begin to speak the same language.
The recurring images of lizards, worms, snakes, dead fish and especially snails were interpreted as symbols of her resistance to the controlled and idealised version of female beauty imposed on her.
The International Cinephile Society also praised Zaineen Chowdhury Karim’s performance, particularly her physical portrayal of the character’s transformation from an anxious bride-to-be to a woman increasingly resisting the expectations placed upon her.
The review, however, felt that some supporting performances and aspects of the screenplay were less convincing.
Next Best Picture also praised the film’s examination of patriarchal pressure and marital expectations, saying it establishes its protagonist’s predicament effectively at the beginning.
However, the review gave the film 4/10, criticising its predictable outcome, meandering narrative and limited character development. It argued that the film’s feminist themes do not ultimately offer enough that feels new to the conversation.
Despite the mixed critical response, several reviews have singled out Hossain’s visual ambition and the film’s use of psychological and supernatural horror to explore female autonomy, beauty standards and the pressures surrounding marriage.
The Difficult Bride stars Zaineen Chowdhury Karim, Azmeri Haque Badhan, Rikita Nandini Shimu, Sunerah Binte Kamal, Shatabdi Wadud, Saberi Alam and Mohammed Bari.
