''Bab'Aziz: '' ( English: ''Bab'Aziz: The prince who contemplated his soul''), often abbreviated to ''Bab'Aziz'', is a

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

film by Tunisian writer and director Nacer Khemir. It stars Parviz Shahinkhou, Maryam Hamid, Hossein Panahi, Nessim Khaloul, Mohamed Graïaa, Maryam Mohaid and

Golshifteh Farahani Rahavard Farahani (; born 10 July 1983), known professionally as Golshifteh Farahani (), is an Iranian and French actress. She is known for her performances in '' M for Mother'' (2006), '' Body of Lies'' (2008), ''About Elly'' (2009), ''The Pat ...

. It was filmed in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Summary and themes

The film's complex and nonlinear narrative chiefly centers around the journey of a blind

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

, Bab'Aziz (Parviz Shahinkhou), and his granddaughter, Ishtar (Maryam Hamid), who — while traveling across the desert towards an immense

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

gathering — encounter several strangers who relate the stories of their own mysterious and spiritual quests. ''Bab'Aziz'' is the third part of Khemir's "Desert Trilogy", which also comprises his 1984 ' ( Wanderers of the desert) and 1991 ' (''The dove's lost necklace''). The three films share structural elements and themes drawn from

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic mysticism and classical culture, as well as an isolated desert setting. Khemir has said: ''Bab'Aziz'' is particularly concerned with Sufi themes. Khemir has stated that he wished to show, in the film, "an open, tolerant and friendly Islamic culture, full of love and wisdom . . . an Islam that is different from the one depicted by the media in the aftermath of 9/11", and that the unusual structure of the film was a deliberate attempt to imitate the structure of Iranian Sufi visions and dances, aimed at allowing the spectator to "forget about his own ego and to put it aside in order to open up to the reality of the world".

Cast

* Parviz Shahinkhou as Bab'Aziz * Maryam Hamid as Ishtar * Hossein Panahi as red dervish * Nessim Khaloul as Zaid * Mohamed Graïaa as Osman *

as Nour * Soren Mehrabiar as dervish

Reception

Box office

''Bab'Aziz'' has grossed $263,447 worldwide.

Critical response

''Bab'Aziz'' received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reports that 58% of 24 critics have given the film a positive review.

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

critic Michael Hardy found fault with Khemir's "well-meaning attempt to correct Western misconceptions of Islam", complaining that the film "is set in the present, but resolutely ignores current events in favor of pervasive nostalgia for the glorious past". However, Matt Zoller Seitz of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised it as "a structurally audacious fairy tale that imparts moral lessons and shows how narratives reflect and shape life". According to

The Hollywood reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

reviewer Frank Scheck " What 'Bab' Aziz' lacks in narrative clarity it makes up for in visual and musical splendor, and the fact that its co-screenwriter is Tonino Guerra". He added that the movie is better experienced on a big screen.

Bibliography

* Firoozeh Papan-Matin. "Nacer Khemir and the Subject of Beauty in Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul," Cinema Journal
Fall 2012, 52:1
52:1, pp. 107–26.

The Film Sufi, 06/12/201

Plume-noire, Damien Panerai , Access date: 27 May 2022

References

External links

Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul , Typecast Films
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bab'Aziz Tunisian drama films Films about Islam Sufi art 2005 films Iranian multilingual films Iranian drama films Tunisian multilingual films