i've been watching the film "bab'aziz". i came across it entirely by chance. of course! directed by nacer khemir, the film follows a blind dervish named bab'aziz as he wanders the desert in the company of his granddaughter ishtar. you could say that they are searching but in fact they are wandering full in the knowledge that, guided solely by their faith they will arrive at a grand reunion of dervishes that takes place once every thirty years. they have no map. there is no set location for this grand meeting. they will simply arrive as will all the other dervishes.
as with most little children, ishtar needs and asks for more than is there in the empty desert. and so, to entertain her, bab'aziz tells a story - an ancient story - of a prince who gives up his worldly life in order to sit by a small pool in the desert. the prince stares into the depths of the pool while contemplating his soul.
as this story gradually unfolds, bab'aziz and ishtar meet others who are also on their way to the great gathering. each has their own story. the film quickly takes on many layers and threads with each new story.
filmed in the deserts of tunisia and iran, this is a film of incredible visual and sonic beauty. filled with metaphor and windows into the soul, it is as much a story of faith as it is an opportunity for the viewer to hover in that space between where they are and where they might wish to be.
here's a bit of a trailer for the film . . .
probably my favourite musical moment and some extraordinary film-making . . . put your headphones on if you've got them . . . .
14 comments:
Hello Steven, I happened upon you from "a hazy moon". This looks like a wonderful film & I hope to find it... probably NetFlix has it. I'll be back for another visit.
Greetings from Texas.
Steven, thanks for this. I've added it to my Netflix queue.
This reminds me of two wonderful films I saw on Mongolia, Steven. One was called The Weeping Camel - don't remember the title of the other one, but they were both fantastic.
I read Three Cups of Tea a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed it. I plan to post a review of it in a few weeks.
"an opportunity for the viewer to hover in that space between where they are and where they might wish to be."
That line alone TOTALLY speaks to me and where I am at in my life. (tears)
hey lizzy, first of all i love your name!!! second, thanks for visiting! it really is a wonderful film and i believe that it is part of a trilogy of films by the same director so when the time and the money come together i'm going to dig up the other two and post the results here. see you!! have a peaceful day. steven
hey dan, i'm going to have to spend some time looking into netflix. i wasn't sure how real it was and then also whether or not it would carry films i would choose to watch. but!!!! it seems worth looking into. have a peaceful day. steven
hi weaver, thanks for the tip about "the weeping camel" i'm going to look that up. i love films but i'm not really drawn to popular films. i like to be transported either to another time or to another place. the transporting has to be very convincing as well!! have a peaceful day. steven
hello again dan! three cups of tea has been a real eye-opener for me as i completely missed what this man was doing and achieving behind the smokescreen of the war. i am sure that there are countless others like him who are quietly working at extraordinary achievements. i'll look forward to reading your review. have a peaceful day. steven
Mesmerizing music ... almost makes me dizzy just listening to it.
hi amelia, as with so many junctures in life, being in that space between where you are and where you wish to be is filled with equal quantities of possibilities and suffering. each informs the other according to the degree you honour your intuition and follow your heart.
it might seem like a passive solution but making yourself available to the future becoming present can be as simple as allowing whatever needs to be in your life to metaphorically walk-through-the-door. have a peaceful day. steven
hi goldenrod, some sufi music does have that effect simply because it relies on repetition. watching mevlevi dervishes (the whirling dervishes) has a calming effect strangely even though they are in fact spinning. have a peaceful day. steven
It's now on my Netflix queue, Steven. I'm looking forward to this one. Thank you!
hi willow, well i hope you enjoy it as much as i did! another amazing film is "meetings with remarkable men" which tells something of the story of gurdjieff. it has not only a powerful tale to tell but also offers the viewer an opportunity to observe another person's spiritual process unfolding. see you. steven
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