![Desert Flower](https://metropolisjapan.com/wp-content/themes/metropolis/assets/images/no-image-large.png)
December 23, 2010
Desert Flower
Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2010 Somali supermodel Waris Dirie (played by Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede) had a hard time getting to where she is. Circumcised at 3, sold at 13, a teen street urchin in London. She was eventually discovered by a fashion photographer and catapulted to the big time, and has since […]
By Metropolis
Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2010
![874-5-M-desert-flower](http://files.metropolis.co.jp/movies/files/2010/12/874-5-M-desert-flower.jpg)
Desert Flower; ©Desert Flower Filmproductions GmbH
Somali supermodel Waris Dirie (played by Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede) had a hard time getting to where she is. Circumcised at 3, sold at 13, a teen street urchin in London. She was eventually discovered by a fashion photographer and catapulted to the big time, and has since become a celebrity activist and UN ambassador against female genital mutilation. All well and good, and a truly fascinating journey. But the film’s pulpy tone, along with the filmmakers’ goofy decision to make the story into a feature-length sitcom with a message at the end, trivializes this serious issue. Some parts in Somali.