Muhammad: The Messenger of God

This is what i call an "Epic" movie . you might say well , meh , this guy is Iranian and after all this movie is Iranian too . i could edit my location to any other place and you wouldn't know , but here is the point : seldomly i like a movie to a point that i cry . this movie made me cry .

as the first part of a trilogy , it perfectly balances itself not to cross any line in regards to both "Sunni" and "Shia" sects . Majid majidi for me is the Christopher Nolan of Iran . only 8 years after his last movie , he has once again astonished his fans with a touching and aspiring movie .

ALCON , this movie is well capable of wiping the floor with other movies in all international events .

This is the most expensive and sophisticated movie any Muslim country has ever created and i hope it can effectively show the real side of Islam to foreign audience .

A.R Rahman and the great staff only add to the greatness of this movie .

my Rate : 10

This film can only be seen by letting go of our logical mind that tries to analyze characters or look for suspense. If you allow your emotions to conduct you, then this film will fulfill you. It's a film that calls on you senses. The vision of beauty, the magical sounds, the loving caress of hands, and even the smell. If smell is one sense that is not yet stimulated in a theater, in this film the evocation is so strong that you smell the sand, the wind, the sea and the perfume of the roses. For Majidi the beauty of the nature and the love between people are the only path to God. Muhammad is an ode to an orphan who had a deep connection with Nature and its Master and became the leader of new religion.

Muhammad: The Messenger of God (2015) is an Iranian film written and directed by Majid Majidi. Cinematography was by Vittorio Storaro. Dryden Theatre of Rochester's George Eastman Museum has been honoring Vittorio Storaro, and that's how we were able to to see this movie. (The DVD was Storaro's own personal copy.)

Another reviewer has called this film, "A must-see feast of beautiful colors and tunes." That is absolutely correct. The screen is filled with color and action. The music is beautiful. The acting is outstanding. (We are never shown Muhammad's face, out of respect for Islamic tradition.) We see elephants, camels, horses, and sheep. Director Majidi gives us (literally) a cast of thousands. The desert scenery is spectacular.

Everything works, except that the actual facts about Muhammad's childhood are scarce. Director Majidi concentrates on miracles that Muhammad performs as a child. I've read a fair amount about Islam, and I've never seen any emphasis placed on Muhammad having supernatural powers when he was young. Muhammad was an orphan, and his life was challenging. Some of what was shown is probably historically correct, but I think most of it arose in the mind of writer Majidi.

One major problem for me is that the film is virulently anti-Semitic. As I understand it, Jews weren't involved in Muhammad's life. He accepted the God of Abraham, and he is considered by Muslims to be that God's true and last prophet. However, any violence he encountered was from opposing tribes, not from Jews. Maybe director Majidi is anti-Semitic. My guess is that this was the price he had to pay for the freedom to make this film in Iran.

The movie is three hours long. The good news is that it was never boring. The bad news is that it may have only a tangential bearing on the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

This movie is in a class of its own. It is a feast for the senses: like a work of art, a painting, or a poem. It is a gentle breeze of fresh air, in a lonely, nonspiritual world. Unlike anything I had experienced before, in the venue in which I saw the film, the majority of viewers broke down in tears of awe at least once during the showing. You could see people shed tears all around. One lady nearby let out whimpers all along, as the film was just too strong for her to control her emotions. Amazing. Just a note for the producers if they ever read this: I wish that after all 3 parts are released, the entire trilogy is shortened into one single film for those who do not have the patience to sit through a 10 hour marathon (of all 3 parts). I think for an impatient viewer, joining all 3 parts into a 2-3 hour movie would be an excellent fit.

I have never left a review before, but after watching this movie in theaters (I am an international student in Iran) I really wanted to express my joy at it. The visuals and sound in the movie surprised me right from the get go; I did not expect them to be this good. There were perhaps some minor areas where there could have been some improvements (more post-production and editing related), but other than that it is definitely a must watch. I hope they get really professional dubbing or sub-titling done, as a lot of non-Persian speakers will be interested in watching this movie.

In terms of the story line, the movie tried to be as honest as possible - avoiding any blatant Shia-Sunni differences. It claimed to make use of historical reports that are famously accepted by both the sects and it more or less seems to have lived up to it.