That what you’re expecting, and what you want, is handled well by director Amber Fares makes Speed Sisters entertaining. Tracking the first all-female racing team in the Middle East, there is much energy, action, and visual excitement: the races aren’t quite Fast & Furious, but they’re shot great.

Then there is the personal touch: each of the five Palestinian women discuss their trail-blazing experiences, with family and friends offering thoughts across a spectrum from support to disdain. We follow the women through a series of competitions against each other for ‘Fastest Woman Alive’ while also racing against men.

While Speed Sisters is liberating and fun, there are geopolitical undertones that creep up every so often but aren’t particularly addressed in detail. They are practicing and racing amid the Israeli occupation, and there are moments that it factors into the narrative, but as it’s not really in the ‘script,’ it’s not handled well.

What’s more, the stories as they are don’t necessarily seem best-suited for full lengthy doc. That is, we’re neither looking at the larger ramifications at what this means, or a specific individual’s story: Speed Sisters is caught somewhere in the middle, interesting, but leaving you wanting more.

Still, the women are captivating and honest, with an inspiring, lively story that requires further digging.

[star v=3]