Muhammad: The Messenger of God

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.

Majidi is a king within the realm of art film, and he sure faced immense challenges managing the first Iranian cinematic project of this scale. The film immerses the audience in an orchestra of beautiful colors, Majidi's specialty, and an outpouring of sublime tunes. Juxtaposed with masterful cinematography of Storaro (although occasionally overdone), Majidi delivers imagery that satisfies aesthetic palates superbly.

The historical period drama, said to be the first part of a trilogy, focuses on prophet Muhammad's childhood. It is of note that, the filmmaker, working within the confines of Islamic conventions, cannot show Muhammad's face, which undeniably renders the project formidable. Hence, the point of view must be shifted, the story must unfold from distributed viewpoints, that must gel together skillfully in order to retain coherence. Though the story does justice vis-à-vis this challenge, it is far from perfection; the script does not mesh well with the visual artistry. The second act is stale, and the last act, though adequate, could be substantially improved. The CGI was noticeably weak; understandable, since it was the very first experience Iranian cinema went through, but still, within the given bounds, could be trimmed down and could easily be improved significantly. This evinces an odd feature of this film: the sense of perfectionism in this film is oddly inconsistent; some parts are perfected masterfully with amazing care, and a few are not even average. In addition to the CGI, the voice of Muhammad is an illustrative example: letting alone professional actors, I am sure that even among Iranian children doing TV commercials there are who are by far better voice actors, both in terms of enunciation and acting, than the kid chosen in this film for the role of Muhammad. What happened to the sense of perfection of the whole team there, I am not sure.

The film strives towards Shia-Sunni neutrality, and succeeds remarkably---unless viewed with absolute cynicism (anything can be deemed as biased if viewed from that lens). The focus is predominantly on the commonalities of the Shia-Sunni accounts, and the chosen story time---Muhammad's childhood---is certainly helpful towards that end. All in all, the film can be best characterized as "promising" (especially when held against the technological status quo of the Iranian cinema) regarding the potentials of cinema for engendering harmony and peace in our ominous and volatile times. It is definitely a must-see.

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

Beautiful movie. A story of love and pain,of hope and fear,of life and death and of family,it's values and traditions. The creator of this universe protected the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from the early childhood. In this movie young Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is shown minus his face,that point could create some controversy.So be aware of this fact before watching the movie. I do cry at few occasions and smile when the small kid was named as "Muhammad"(PBUH).

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.