Saba (2025) [Movie Review] — Heartache and Resilience: Maksud Hossain’s Compassionate Debut

Maksud Hossain’s debut is a quietly powerful slice-of-life drama anchored by a virtuoso turn from Mehazabien Chowdhury in Saba. Realist, compassionate, and technically assured, it marks a major new voice in contemporary Bangladeshi cinema. Saba is screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Story

The emotional core

Saba follows a 25-year-old woman who shoulders the fierce, daily responsibility of caring for her paralyzed mother, Shirin. When medical needs escalate and money becomes a life-or-death problem, Saba’s survival choices—working in the city, fraught family negotiations, and a complicated closeness with Ankur—reveal the moral and social pressures that constrict ordinary lives.

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Direction & Writing

A confident debut

Maksud Hossain, who co-wrote the script with Trilora Khan, demonstrates remarkable restraint and control for a first feature. The narrative refuses melodrama, instead unfolding through small, revealing moments that build into a cumulative emotional force. The screenplay—rooted in personal experience—balances intimate domestic detail with broader social critique without ever feeling forced.

Performances

The cast that elevates the film

Mehazabien Chowdhury is the film’s beating heart—nuanced, contained, and devastatingly real in equal measure. Rokeya Prachy brings layered complexity to Shirin, moving from brittle anger to fragile dependence. Mostafa Monwar’s Ankur is morally ambiguous and lived-in, while supporting players add texture to a portrait of a city where dreams and desperation coexist.

Cinematography & Technicals

Visuals that feel lived-in

Barkat Hossain Polash’s cinematography favors close, attentive framing that places us squarely in Saba’s world. The handheld approach and intimate close-ups create immediacy—occasionally shaky, but largely effective in conveying a bustling, claustrophobic Dhaka. Sameer Ahmed’s editing keeps a steady mid-tempo, and at a crisp 95 minutes, the film respects the audience’s time.

Themes & Social Commentary

Hard truths, humane lens

Saba interrogates class disparity, a failing healthcare system, and the emotional cost of caregiving. It refuses pity: the film treats Saba’s devotion as stubborn love rather than martyrdom. Dreams here are fragile, often crushed by circumstance, but the film’s insistence on dignity and resilience gives its bleak moments a hard-won tenderness.

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Verdict

Why you should watch it

Saba is a mature, humane debut that signals a promising filmmaker and a star performance by Mehazabien Chowdhury. Fans of realist social drama will find much to admire—a film that wounds and comforts in equal measure. Highly recommended for viewers who appreciate intimate storytelling and contemporary Bangladeshi cinema that speaks with authority and heart.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)