Bab'Aziz

For anyone who is unaware of the culture,the Dervish is an integral part of the Sufi branch of Islam (the ones who embrace mysticism). This is a loving meditation on a grandfather & granddaughter who embark on a spiritual odyssey to a gathering of Dervishes that only takes place every 30 years. Along the way,the pair encounters various persons in the desert that tell their stories (which,like Sufi stories,interweave within one another). This is a lovingly written, directed,filmed (mostly in the barren desert areas of Iran,giving the film a dreamy & surreal look at times)allegory of spirituality. This is a film that deserves to be taken at it's own terms (the pacing is s-l-o-w, but don't let that deter you). The music score is fantastic,with lots of traditional Sufi music (it might help to listen to a bit of it---try anything by the late,great Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn for some background). By all means,get yourself attuned & enjoy this rare bit of entertainment & enlightenment.

Although there are moments when the movie may seem to progress slowly; nonetheless it kept the audience at the cinema glued to their seats. I went to watch the movie twice. It did not attract huge audiences; which in great part may be due to its lack of adequate advertising; but those few who did come to see the movie were glued to their seats. The movie has two great features. One is the soul stirring choice of music and its perfect adaptation to the scenes. Secondly, the movie successfully achieves the difficult undertaking of introducing and explaining in graphic terms and with simple stories the almost exclusively Oriental world of mysticism. The setting might not reflect the physical or material reality of the East, but it definitely does add to the magic and facilitates the viewer's transit from the material world outside to the spiritual world within. Highly recommended.

I went today on a film festival in Izola, Slovenia and this was the first movie I saw. I'm in a youth jury.

I have to say that this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Everything is going on in a desert and you completely feel like your a part of this story. Movie photography is amazing. There are four stories that all tell one message. Maybe it's a little hard to follow all the stories, but in the end everything makes sense. I loved the message, but I can't tell you what it is, I want you to see the movie.

The music was also amazing. Arabic music makes you feel like your there, in the movie, but sometimes it's a little bit to loud...you can't hear the desert. But maybe that's what the director wanted. I recommend it to everyone!

Images are of a haunting beauty: the immensity of the desert, the rare trees, birds, rocks trying to make their life there, the sudden oasis with houses made of clay, the paradox of ghost houses surrounded by myriads of people, the mosque, unexpected and weird, like the church from Tarkovski's Stalker.

The music is great, and makes the movie a ballad: it is like the songs make the statement and images and dialog just emphasize. Of course songs are not translated, but give you the mood.

It is not easy at all to follow the story: it comes from a very different culture, with its own rhythms, its own poetry, its own logical connections. For us it is like floating in plain paradox.

For those who haven't seen it yet, think at the movies of Parajanov. It is not an easy movie, but if you overcome the difficulties, you'll get the incomparable beauty of the story.

There are moments that do not come often to us - we should be prepared for them. Encounter with love, with death. Death as the way to enter the great realm that we lost at birth.

And the granddaughter, learning this lesson of life on the way, along with us, who are watching the movie and follow her journey.

Great movie!

This is more than a film. It is a cinematic teaching tale. It can function on the level of that sort of Sufi contemplation device in which direct experience--through contemplation of a parable--is more important than preaching and didacticism. It is designed with careful artistry so that it is comprehended by the faculty of consciousness mystics call "the heart" rather then by the intellect. The Sufi (and Islamic)traditional saying "Die before you die" has never been so well conveyed. The central figures of Baba and Ishtar embodied by the actors are compelling to the point of beauty, with enough mystery and paradox that you will never be able to put your finger on precisely why, and in what way, you have been moved. But many, many people will be: what ever faith they practice, and even if they do not have one. This film will leave you with the powerful sense that the realm of spirit is the greater reality. -- Joe Martin