Bab'Aziz - The Prince that Contemplated His Soul

Bab'Aziz - The Prince that Contemplated His Soul
Iran (2005)
Starring: Parviz Shahinkhou, Maryam Hamid, Hossein Panahi
Awards:  2005 Crystal Simorgh - Fajr Film Festival; 2006 Golden Dagger - Muscat Film Festival

Bab'Aziz is an amazing story that begins in the desert with a blind dervish and his grand daughter.  This movie follows their journey as they head towards their destination, a great reunion, with nothing but faith to guide them.  On the journey they meet many other dervishes who are also headed the same direction.  Some are misguided and without faith can not find the way, others are lost and seeking answers, and one is on his way to find the love of his life whose path had split from his own.  As these dervishes come and go, taking their own paths to the reunion, Ishtar's grandfather tells her a story of the prince who gave up his worldly status to contemplate his soul.  Through the movie I wondered if that prince was her grandfather himself, but this was never made clear to me.

There are a few things about this movie that I really liked.  The scenery was gorgeous.  This movie was filmed in both Iran and Tunisia and it incorporates both dues of sand with a satin appearance as well as scorching desert with mountains off in the distance.  For the scenery and the cinematography this movie was worth watching.  It also has a very heavy undertone of Islamic teaching and words wise enough that I believe  many of the lines and stories in this movie might have come from Sufi's.  Bab'Aziz does orient towards Islam, but the wisdom hidden in the movie make it a wonderful movie for almost anyone with an open mind.  There is no action in this movie, there are no amazing special effects, but there is a beautiful journey and an amazing story.

Quote:  He who has faith will never get lost

Wu ji - The Promise

Wu ji - The Promise
China (2005)
Starring:  Cecilia Cheung, Dong-gun Jang, Hiroyuki Sanda
Awards:  Orient Express Section Special Jury Award (Fantasporto 2007)

I looked for this movie because I came across an old review from the LA Times I think that called it one of the most beautiful films imaginable.  The Promise was without a doubt visually striking.  It was worth getting the blu-ray version of it.  From the costumes to the scenes to the story itself this movie was cool all the way through.  It truly is a beautiful story.

In a world where men and gods live side by side a slave from the Land of the Snow and beggar turned princess pick their destiny.  Cheung was promised by a goddess a life of riches, but without love.  Jang was born a more noble human from the Land of the Snow and forced into slavery.  Their paths cross in a complex turn of events and the rest is the story that is worth watching.

This movie was awesome.  Just when I thought that I'd exhausted nearly every major cinematic release from the past decade I found a movie that made me wonder how I had missed it!

Quote:  Destiny can be changed, time sometimes does flow backwards, snow can fall in the spring, and even a frozen heart can come back to life.

Bajo Aguas Tranquilas - Beneath Still Waters

Bajo Aguas Tranquilas - Beneath Still Waters
Spain (2005)
Starring:  Michael McKell, Raquel Merono, Charlotte Salt

Beneath still waters was...

There were some parts where you could tell some great imagination came into play during the script writing.  There were some parts that were kind of, semi, maybe partially a little creepy.  That's about it.  By the time this movie was over with I felt like it was a complete waste of time.  If you are snowed in with no alcohol, no internet, a pen, a dvd player, and a TV that get's no network channels, and this DVD - take the pen and use the DVD as a surface for some artistic outlet and doodle on it.

MirrorMask

MirrorMask
2005
Canada
Starring:  Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, and Rob Brydon

MirrorMask falls into many different categories.  It is an adventure, a drama, a family movie, a fantasy, and is full of carnies all the way through.

I think Jim Henson had a run in with some bad acid from the 60s when he wrote this.  This movie was a visual trip all the way through.  I can only imagine the people who created it.  It is done by the creators of Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

With that said, if you can deal with the trippieness of it all it is quite an imaginative adventure.

The story begins in a carnival where one of the stars of the show is fighting with her daughter.  After those often exchanged words between the rebellious teenager and parents watching out for them.  Soon she finds herself in a world where everyone mysteriously wears masks..



Quote:  If I told you something wierd, would you think I'm crazy?