written by on 22/06/2012
'Desert Flower' is the amazing story of Waris Dirie, a Somalian nomad girl who once walked thousands of miles through the Somalian desert, escaping from her arranged wedding; walked and worked as a maid without any rights to live her own life; continued walking to fulfil her dreams of a better future; walked as an international model at New York's, London's and Paris' most important runway shows; and now continues walking and fighting as a U.N. ambassador against female genital mutilation. Waris Dirie leads you through her novel in an easy-going way: She introduces you to horrible and painful topics like circumcision, but also explains her joy for nature and the immense love for her family. With every page, you get more and more respect for her, admiring her strongness and never-ending optimism. 'Desert Flower' is a awful and in the same time wonderful story, I would recomend it to everybody older than 14.
written by on 20/06/2012
Desert Flowor is the film adaptaion of the corrspondent book which is written by Waris Dirie. It tells the story of her life: From a Somalion Nomade, who was circumcised at the age of 5, to a model and UN-Ambassador. The film shows the emotional and painful life of Waris in an entertaining way. Because of this, the intention why Dirie wrote the book gets a bit lost (She wants to dedicate her life for the fight against circumcision and the respect for the human dignity). It is possible to realize, that it is just not possible to put an amazing biography where many details are important into about 120 minutes. But for getting an impression about her life and the actuality of circumcision the film is a great oppurtunity. Also the two main actors Liya Kebede(Waris Dirie) and Sally Hawkins (Marilyn Monroe) did a good job. My recommendation: Watch this movie. You will not get disappointed. But the book is a helpful addendum to understand it in detail.
written by Star1234 on 20/06/2012
In my point of view "Desert Flower" is a real and also a touching story. I admire Waris because she is a fighter. The movie brings the Nomads life close to the viewers. The storyline captures the attention of the viewers right from the beginning. This story really shows that if you have the will, you can reach nearly everything in life. But I think the mainplot is about circumcision. The movie makes the people aware of the terrible tradition which is still represented in Somalia. But because of some scenes in the movie I would not recommend this movie to kids under 14 years.
written by Guest1002 on 20/06/2012
The film "desert flower" is about Waris Dirie, a nomad girl who lives in the somalian desert and than escapes to london and become a topmodel. The story in the film tells more about female circumcision than about the life of this impressive and strong somalian girl. In the book with the same name, we can find out more about Waris life and other traditions in somalia. The movie is not bad, it is just totally different from the book.It has another structure.But especially the backround music in the film fits really well to the scenes. All in all i would totally recommend the film, but it would be better to read the novel first to have all information about this really extraordinary character Waris.Finally i would also say the actors are really well chosen, especially Liya Kebede who plays Waris.
written by on 20/06/2012
The film shows the directors intention of making people aware of female circumcision in an impressing and reliable way. That is also because of the actor Lyia Kebebe who plays Waris Dirie. She shows Waris development from a Nomad to a successful model and especially to a strong woman very good. The movie ist different from the biographie because the structure and intention is different. Watching the movie after reading the book was therefore kind of confusing because you cannnot expect the same scenes and structure as in the book. Some scenes are also left out and changed which might be hard to understand if you have not read the book before. Anyway,I can really recommend the movie because it is useful to know about the painful and dangerous practise of circumcision all over the world so that there is a chance to help this women. Moreover you get an insight in the culture of Nomads in Somalia.
written by on 20/06/2012
This novel and the movie based on it tell the story of a great woman with an incredibly strong will. I really like the book, Waris Dirie is a beautiful inspiration to anyone. While I do like the movie, too, I am sure I would have liked it much more if I hadn't read the book before I watched the movie. The structure is completely changed and many scenes that were important for me were left out, as well as the movie makers chose to make a lot of character changes. The movie is intended to raise awareness against Female Genital Mutilation and definitely reaches the goal. It features beautiful scenes supported by great music, but it would have been possible to translate the story onto the screen a little better. I personally found the structure too confusing and definitely missed a lot of story lines that were in the book, for example Waris meeting her family again.
written by on 20/06/2012
My opinion is at first that the movie is played by really great actors, especially Lyia Kebebe as Waris Dirie. She is doing a great job showing the viewer the story of a nomad girl becoming a model and UN-ambassador. The movie also deals with female circumcision and the intention is to make people aware of this dangerous practise. After reading Waris Dirie's biography I visualized the film different and more like the book, but some facts are changed or completely left out and the structure seemed confusing for me, too. Nevertheless I would recommend the movie, because it tells much about a culture we do not know in an impressing and touching way that makes everyone think about Waris Dirie's life.
written by on 20/06/2012
I really liked the movie itself, even though it was not the way i expected it to be. Compared to the book, the movie is completely different. The scenes i found most important in the book were not shown in the movie, for example the scene when Waris meets her mum again after 20 years. But what I really loved about the movie was Liya Kebede in her role as Waris and also the other actors like Sally Hawkins and Timothy Spall. The movie is not structured in the way the book is, but that really made it much more exciting and the backshifts were really heartbreaking.The message of the movie is a litte bit different from the book, but the movie still shows the life of one of the most courageous women i have ever seen on screen. Finally I would say that somebody, who expects the movie to be like the book, will be very dissapointed. It is something completely different, but still very interesting and worth watching.
written by C.S.V. on 20/06/2012
Waris Dirie tells her own story of growing up in the desert, escaping to England, becoming a model and eventually an U.N. ambassador. It is a very emotional story, you can really imagine how she feels in every situation she describes. This story gives you a great view on the life of desert nomads, which is plenty of work and danger, and shows you how people are formed by nomad's life. But the real topic of the story is neither nomad's life nor modeling. It is about circumcision. Waris Dirie was circumcised as a little girl and operated later to avoid the pain which comes with it. She shows you how horrible this ritual for every girl is and for how long they have to deal with the consequences: their whole life. Reading how painful but important for the protagonist it is, how difficult it is to decide on surgery later and why it is done makes you feel sorry for every circumcised woman. After having read this book or seen the film you will have a different view on somalian culture. The story is told in a great way and really worth reading but it is also a difficult and tragic topic. Not everybody is able to get over it without tears. "Desert Flower" is a fantastic story but quite hard to read.
written by on 26/02/2008
It's a great real story, that touches you, and make you admire that woman... the fighter, who survived dangerous situations,and upbringing. it is a story that you can not put down once you start reading it . im so proud of that woman and all her achievements on all levels. and it is so easy to read , even if your English is not your first language.."like me".
After all, it is a very positive story that makes think differently, and more positive once you finish it.
Great... great story.
written by haya on 25/02/2008
Great story of courage. I admire this woman, i mean this "nomad" fighter... after all, it is a very positive story, even though I cried many times while reading it. "Waris Dirie"...I admire your determination, faith and courage and most of all, your love to your country.
written by skateychicknz on 30/08/2004
Waris Dirie, Desert Flower - I recommend this book to everyone over 13. No matter what your living situation is, this book truly brings you into the African environment. Waris shows huge courage and determination in dealing with whatever life hands her. She is a huge inspiration and proves that people can do anything and no matter how bad things get they can always improve. It is extremely moving and is definitely a book you can't put down. Right from the start it gets straight into it, capturing the reader's attention.
Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site