‘Hijra’ Review: A Disappearance Reveals a Society’s Strictures in Potent Saudi Drama

‘Hijra’ Review: A Disappearance Reveals a Society’s Strictures in Potent Saudi Drama

It takes a detour from a pilgrimage to Mecca to uncover true enlightenment in “Hijra,” Shahad Ameen’s compelling sophomore feature, in which the sudden disappearance of one of the two young women in the care of their devout grandmother upends their sacred ritual of Hajj. Selected to represent Saudi Arabia in the Oscars’ international feature race, the intelligently crafted drama shows that in order to find the missing young woman, Sitti (Khairia…