The Matchmaker is a drama film about a man who is disillusioned with his life and follows a strange invitation out to the desert to get everything he wants. The film is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Many years ago, a young girl named Hessa was married off to a man who abused her constantly. No matter where she turned, she didn’t receive any help until she finally found an ear in the desert that heard her problems and offered her a solution.
She was given a slave known as “Siba The Hidden One”, a spirit that helped her cleanse the soul of her husband, Saad, and make him subservient to her. She then decided to use this spirit to help others like herself and punish the men responsible.
Tarak is an IT employee who spends all his day at work and returns home late to his wife and daughter. He desires to have a better relationship with them but isn’t sure how to achieve that.
One day, he notices an intern at his office named Salma and becomes infatuated with her. She works with a colleague of his named Abu Mouath so he warns her that the man she’s working with has a history of harassment.
She tells him that she’s aware of his history and walks away from him. He sees that she leaves a box in Abu Mouath’s office and later finds out that she has resigned.
He sneaks into that office and grabs the box that isn’t meant for him. Inside is a tablet with an advertisement for a resort in the middle of the desert promising to help unite lonely people with the woman of their dreams.
The invitation is specifically for Abu Mouath but Tarak ends up going in his place. Saad is there to receive him at the airport and take him to the resort. When he arrives there, he is told that he is not allowed to leave his room when there aren’t events happening.
He is also given a specific outfit with a headscarf to cover his face for privacy. He soon realizes that he isn’t receiving a signal on his phone and feels as though something strange is going on.
He is invited to meet the person behind the resort, the Matchmaker, who turns out to be Hessa. She tells him that he’ll soon get what he’s been dreaming of and just needs to remain patient. He’s also given one of the hidden rings of Siba.
Tarak is informed that he’ll be attending other people’s weddings and they will attend his as well as they believe in a sense of community at the resort. When he asks if he can meet the woman chosen for him, Hessa says he will in due time.
That evening, he attends a wedding where one of the other men approaches him and tells him that he’s going to have a great experience at the resort and might not want to leave.
That evening, Tarak hears some noises outside and when he goes to investigate, he’s told by one of the guards that he must go back inside. He sees another room door open and he goes in to see an old man calling out for Salma.
The man says that he’s Salma’s father and he came there looking for her. He tells Tarak not to trust anyone there and the way to escape so that he can find Salma.
Tarak follows his instructions but sees some weird stuff before waking up in his bed the next morning. He notices that his finger with the ring on it is rotting and he isn’t able to get it off.
He talks to the man who approached him before and discusses how strange things have been happening and they agree to leave the resort that very day. He waits in the lobby but the other man doesn’t show up.
When he goes to the man’s room, he finds out that the man is getting married that evening and uses the threat of leaving to expedite it. Tarak decides to leave on his own but as he’s trying to, Saad hits him with a tazer and he’s forced to attend the wedding.
The Matchmaker (2023) ending explained in detail:
What is the marriage ritual?
Tarak wakes up at the wedding and once it is over, he subdues one of the guards and disguises himself in their clothes. He goes along with the other guards out into the desert.
He gets to witness what happens after each marriage as the husbands are burnt alive to cleanse their souls and they reappear as new men, living to serve the women who have been wronged in the past.
Salma, Hessa, and several other women watch this ritual from a distance. Once it is over, Tarak is knocked out by the old man who claimed to be Salma’s father.
What happens to Tarak?
Tarak wakes up tied to a chair right in front of Hessa. She admonishes him for not being patient and asks him what he truly wants. He says that he’s there for Salma and she says he’s ruined everything.
She then walks out and Salma walks in to ask him why he’s there. He says that he came there for her and curses the day he saw her. She replies that he wasn’t supposed to come and messed things up by taking Abu Mouath’s place at the resort.
What does Salma do?
Salma meets with Hessa, who expresses her doubts about Salma’s recent behavior. Salma says that she doesn’t necessarily agree with the way things are done at the resort.
She believes that these men must not live as soulless slaves and must be given a chance to change for the better. She feels some guilt for Tarak’s situation but Hessa reminds her how she was treated by pointing out the burns on her arms.
Hessa decides to do something drastic and burns down Hessa’s office and writes a letter to her saying that she will take everything she has learned and apply it in a different way.
The men at the resort are freed to return to their old lives, and Tarak returns home with a renewed perspective determined to be closer to his wife and daughter.
Also Read: Kiss, Kiss! summary & ending explained