Finding Ola review: Egyptian series about everyday life of a woman after divorce and her self-discovery is quite inspiring

4/5

Story:

After her divorce, Ola is seen embarking on a self-discovery journey as she also manages the challenges of raising two children, making ends meet and dealing with her overbearing mother

Review:

It is quite surprising to see a story like Finding Ola from Egypt, a country, which is most often considered a conservative society, especially when it comes to gender equality. For the makers to tell a story of a woman becoming independent after her divorce might not have been easy, considering the practices of gender segregation at school and veiling that exists to date in the country. So kudos to the makers for that! It is empowering to see a story like this emerge from the flourishing film industry of such a country. 

The series follows the story of a recently divorced woman Ola. She grows to be an independent woman, while also dealing with the challenges of raising two kids, an overbearing mother and making ends meet. She seemed to have forgotten who she used to be before her marriage as she gets drowned with responsiblities and tries to find herself again. Had she wanted, she could have had it easy since her ex-husband insisted to pay for all the expenses of their children. But Ola said a firm 'No' and sets an example that a woman can live her life on her own terms. She gradually grows to be a bold and outspoken woman who sets her priorities straight with her friends, mother and boyfriends as she embarks on this journey of self-discovery and single motherhood. That's the beauty of the story. It tells a simple tale of an everyday life of a divorced woman, which can inspire many woman. 

The character arc of Ola is well-written and portrayed. The house wife is seen struggling initially as she processes the sudden change in her life when her husband walks out on her. She is all confused and does not know all the responsibilities that her husband used to take care. But she soon learns everything and gets onto her feet. Her mother believes and tries to convince her to get her husband back as the house needs a 'man' but she pays no heed. She decides to take charge of all the household responsibilities. She also goes to the father-only camp with her kids when Hisham, her husband, could not show up. She starts her own business of home-made and organic cosmetics, which her ex-husband and mother believed would never work. But she proves them wrong as the business flourishing and grows tremendously and her converting her home business to a store-owned business. She later also gets into talk of opening up more branches. Ola gets back with her best friend, a practical single woman, whom she had cut her ties off with, because of her husband. She even becomes her business partner. 

Ola's ex-husband, who is dealing with mid-life crisis gets into a relationship with a young influencer. Ola is seen coming to terms with it. The scene where Ola, Hisham, his girlfriend where they join for a lunch to get to know each other, is quite funny. Ola imagines to hit her and pour water on her as she hates her so much but she soon also understands and realises that she is a nice person and actually likes her. Ola gets more matured and tries to hold all things together in life. It was quite fascinating and inspiring to also see her creating a bucket list and fulfilling those wishes. 

The series raises the question if a woman becomes a bad mother if she prioritises herself sometimes and how life after divorce is different for a woman than a man. And also addresses them quite beautifully, saying no one is to be blamed and everyone is just trying to figure out their lives. The parents, who are considered equivalent to God, are also dealt with as normal and regular human beings, who can also get things wrong while trying their best in parenting. And, unlike many, they openly admit it and talk about it later with their kids. 

Ola is seen trying to move on in her love life too. She decides to go on dates. The scenes of her dates are presented creatively as she is seen swiping left to those characters live. But she doesn't get lucky in that field. One of the main highlights of the show is its climax. Unlike many conventional stories, where you see a woman sacrificing her happiness or accepting her fate and gets back with the man, despite the pain he puts her through, the show offers a different ending. Ola's mother and former mother-in-law and family try to force her to get back with Hisham after he breaks up with his young girlfriend and realises Ola's value but Ola boldly refuses him. The scene where they have 'the talk' is indeed beautiful. They are seen sitting on the balcony and Hisham reminds Ola how they ended up buying the house. He later asks what had gone wrong and she says, they were bored in their marriage and Hisham left her, which was very painful experience. She says she cannot go through that again. As expected, her husband talks about how she believes in second chance, which is evident in her business ideologies as well, Ola replies that he lost that chance the moment he walked out of the door. 

Though Ola did not get the happy ending in her love life, she does seem happy with where she is and how far she has come. She also admits in one of the scenes that she is proud of herself and there is nothing wrong with that. The series sets an exemplary model for other women. 

The only low-point in the series is the way how Ola turns to the camera and speaks her thoughts to the audience, like in the documentary style, in the middle of a scene or a conversation in a scene. It gets irritating but fortunately, the number of times she does that reduces in the following episodes and the sub-plots and subject matters make you forget that one bit. 

The performances of the actors are excellent, especially of Hind Sabry as the single mother Ola. She looks so believable in the role that she reprises after 10 years. She had played the role of Ola Abdel-Sabour in the social drama, “I Want to Get Married”. 

Verdict:

The series makes for a pleasant watch with a great climax. The woman-centric show is quite inspiring and empowering to see.

It is available to stream on Netflix.