Movie is about circumcision of 3 year old Waris, her escape from Somalia, and her way to be a top model. The main actress surprisingly looks very similar to the real Waris Dirie and the casting was generally very satisfying. The scenes of 3-year old girls's circumcision were disturbing and sad but necessary. I watched the movie as a biography of Waris Dirie but it wasn't. The message given throughout the movie was deeper than the life of a Somalian girl.

I cut two points because there were some missing points. For example; this sad girl did almost nothing that really helped her during her way to be a top model: her roommate and the reception lady. The turning point to be a model was indeed her meeting with her roommate and her acceptance to the hostel. The day she changed her life was the day when her roommate told Waris that he is a famous photographer. The fashion agency lady was weak and looked like a fake Miranda Priestly. This is my opinion of course but it disturbed me because that strong fashion character already processed by Meryl Streep successfully and I didn't like to see a fake Miranda. Anyways, I liked the movie in general and it wasn't boring at all. What I liked most was they never used an expression as if this is a Muslim tradition. This is not and this cruel and pervert practice cannot be any religious in any way. I wish this movie attracted more attention to the Waris Dirie foundation and treated as Silver Linings.

Desert Flower is a weird movie. It is based on the life story of Waris Dirie, a super-model up there with Naomi Campel and Cate Moss. The movie focuses on the time from just before her discovery until her big success, with constant flashbacks of her childhood in Somalia and her way to London. Liya Kebede plays a wonderful Waris Dirie, very lovely and full of surprise and fear of the daily life we all take for granted, while at the same time showing great bravery and a strong will to fight for a better life. The rest of the cast is medium at best, a positive exception only the character of Terence Donovan, the photographer. The director did not resist the temptation to give Waris a sort of "funny sidekick-friend" as well as the stereotypical I-Jumped-Out-Of-"The Devil Wears Prada"-Movie - manager, to add some slapstick-touch, which was totally unnecessary. The movie does not leave anyone untouched though, it has some heartwarming and touching as well as some very cruel and disturbing passages. It is funny and sweet when Waris is struggling with the British everyday life, making friends, and so on. It is hard to bear when you are faced with drastic pictures of a 3 year old girl being circumcised, with a 19-year old woman suffering still from this cruel and brutal violation, and with the fact that a whole tradition tries to justify this. And that is the main weak point of the movie. The changes from the funny, light and sweet scenes to the brutal and cruel ones come without warning. The editor or director does not give you the time to set your mind to that kind of situation, and after a hefty scene they just switch back to the light comedy-part as if nothing happens. While I understand the intention, for me as a viewer I could not enjoy the funny parts - which were never the less intended to entertain the audience. I recommend this movie if you can handle the topic, but do not look for a entertaining biopic with some depth. It has entertainment, it has depth, but it tries to deliver both but never brings it home all the way in the one or the other topic.