Bab'Aziz - The Prince That Contemplated His Soul (2008)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 25
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 11
This visually stunning interior epic inspired by Sufi mysticism explores the magic of storytelling but, like its desert locations, can be a bit dry.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 3
This visually stunning interior epic inspired by Sufi mysticism explores the magic of storytelling but, like its desert locations, can be a bit dry.
liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 574
My Rating
Movie Info
Director Nacer Khemir traces the profound journey of a young girl and her blind grandfather into the desert as they search for a legendary gathering of elders in an unknown location. Bab'Aziz is a noble dervish who, along with his spirited granddaughter Ishtar, has been invited to attend a special gathering that is said to take place somewhere deep in the dunes of the eternal desert. There are no directions to the location of the gathering, however, as it is said that those who are meant to
Cast
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Parviz Shahinkhou
Bab'Aziz -
Maryam Hamid
Ishtar -
Muhammad Grayaa
Osman -
Golshifteh Farahani
Nour -
Nessim Kahloul
Zaid -
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All Critics (27) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (11) | DVD (1)
The cycle of youth and age and the trope of a journey come together inevitably, maybe predictably, but not without sparks of wisdom.
Top CriticIt is neither engaging nor enlightening.
A lovely if meandering fantasia about the power of narrative.
Cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari (Offside) conjures magic from an array of pastels, shimmering lights, and enigmatic ruins.
The movie never gains much narrative momentum and the religious elements remain a bit obscure to the uninitiated, but the fine Sufi music and skillfully crafted images make for pleasant-enough viewing.
Perhaps inevitably, the story and characters in Bab'Aziz never rival the interest of its photography.
It's not a film for the impatient -- no guns, no chases, no explosions. What it does have is beautiful cinematography and a thoroughly positive vibe.
[It] proves that, even in our troubled times, East and West can still come together, when necessary, to produce something completely and utterly confusing.
More like homework than entertainment
Those who find Rumi's wisdom as unknowable as desert sand constantly reshaped by the wind that blows it, will have the same reaction to Bab'Aziz.
[Nacer] Khemir, a poet and a painter as well as a filmmaker... uses the endless, timeless desert landscape to create an existence in which past and present coexist.
An episodic fairy tale that dazzles the eyes and sometimes tries the patience.
Although beautifully filmed, Bab'Aziz's form mirrors the actions of its characters, wandering the desert and dancing among the tales, returning to the present-day story for Ishtar, with her wise, old face, to say, 'What happened next?'.
The arrival of the film is, to misuse a dervish cliche, something worth singing and dancing about.
Audience Reviews for Bab'Aziz - The Prince That Contemplated His Soul
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Foreign Titles
- Bab'Aziz - Der Tanz des Windes (DE)
- Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (UK)
