In the 12th century's Andalusia lives Ibn Rushd a prominent Islamic philosopher with his wife Zeinab and daughter Salma. The principality is ruled by Khalifa ElMansour who has two sons, ElNasser, an intellectual that likes Ibn Rush and is in love with his daughter Salma. The younger son Abdallah is more into dancing and poetry, spending most of his times with the gypsy family and getting the daughter pregnant. The Khalifa is depending on the extremists to build his army granting them more power which they use to combat artists and philosophers. The extremists succeed in recruiting Abd Allah and train him to kill his father. Events go on where Marawan, the gypsy singer, is killed and Ibn Rushd's books are burnt. Adapted from the real life of Ibn Rushd AlMasir is Chahine's statement against extremism.
Reviews
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
This film is an entertaining and thrilling mix of melodrama, music, history, grief and joy, showing the best and worst sides of human nature. The story is set in medieval Moorish Spain, and concerns the conflict between Averroes; a historical humanistic Muslim philosopher; and a group of reactionary fundamentalists. It is extremely well acted and the characters are sympathetic as well as credible. It is often forgotten that many of the Islamic societies of the Middle Ages (particularly in Spain) were way ahead of Europe in science, mathematics, medicine, religious tolerance and most intellectual pursuits. However, there were periodic and sometimes serious conflicts with those who resented these trends.This is not just an historical epic. The Egyptian director, a very courageous man named Youssef Chanine, deliberately molded the script to show how fanaticism not only undermines a society's intellect, but destroys the very souls of its members. Particularly disturbing, but highly relevant to our times is his portrayal of the subtle manner in which young men are recruited into these movements and about how empty and dishonest they turn out to be.Although the population of medieval Andalusia was 10-15% Jewish and Averroes had extensive contact with both Jewish and Christian intellectuals, there isn't a Jew in sight and the only Christians depicted are evil, fanatical, external enemies who enter into a secret pact with the fundamentalist cult. While this is not entirely accurate and a gross simplification of the actual situation at the time, I don't fault Mr. Chanine. He has endured extreme legal harassment in the Egyptian courts over this and another film as well as extensive death threats against himself and his family. Merely exploring the themes portrayed in this movie has put his head on the chopping block, and any sympathetic depiction of Jews or Christians would have resulted in the banning of the film and possibly his head rolling into the basket. He deliberately crafted this film to educate his own society about the moral corruption and debasement of violent fanatical behavior and no doubt wanted to make sure the message got out.A bold, yet gently provocative film by a very brave man.
-one of the best movies i have ever saw...incredibly stunning...a movie that defies all genres and bringing them all in 1 classic film. the movie is dramatic, comedic, musical, historic, everyyyyyyyyythin...it shows that what is goin on now, in our lives, happened in the past..the world isnt changing...its just growing older...an incredible film...showing us more on the life of the islamic empire, the form of spain, the muslim extrimism and how long it begand and how it affects people...A MUST SEE MOVIE..u have to c it..i give it 10/10 with no ifs, ands or buts...EGYPTIAN FILMMAKER YOUSSEF CHAHINE HAS PROVEN TO BE THE BEST FILMMAKER THAT EVER LIVED BY DOING THIS FILM...surpasing all barriers, in a daring form of art...i consider this movie one of my favourite ever...so magical, mystical, phenominal....a trymph-you MKUST also check other excellent youssef chahine films, try to get them in any way..the movies i highly recomend are: Cairo Station, Alexandria Why, An Egyptian Story, The Immigrant, Silence we're rolling, Salahdine, The Other, The Sixth Day, and GoodBye Bonaparte...i saw all of these films..and u should too..these are the remarks and main original structure of cinema all around the world..
Mr. Chahine is masterful and downright crafty in pushing forward his message for cosmopolitan rationality vs. parochial fanaticism: Starting from a telegraphed overview of historical events, ideological currents and characters from the two-century period (XI-XII) in Andalusia that saw a wave of North-African fundamentalist mercenary Berbers wrestle power away from the weakened remnants of the enlightened Umayyad dynasty, he made a deceivingly simple parable using old-time Hollywood formats and entertainment values à la `Thief of Baghdad.' Chahine is thus successfully addressing matters of dense philosophical and political import under the guise of an almost infantile entertainment. The plot, furthermore, echoes `Fahrenheit 451' and its overall ideological stance is reminiscent of A Man for All Seasons.' On the other hand, seeing its `musical' values as a bow to Hollywood is merely scratching at the surface, since it must be kept in mind that poetry in song the obsessive discipline of enlightened Islam was the most efficient vehicle for the birth and expansion of all values appropriated by Christian Western (read, European) civilization. Hence, the formal solution signifies much more than the surface. On the other hand, Chahine ties the past quite neatly -- through his storytelling and filmmaking craft -- with current world events and thought convolutions. For example, the stabbing of the bard character in Destiny couldn't be less than a painful fictionalization of the fundamentalist attack on the contemporary Egyptian novelist Mafouz. El Massir is an important piece of work, and I think everyone who is at all concerned or curious about the nature of the global forces at work today should take a long and detained look at it. This film carries a hefty punch and what's best -- you can barely feel it, as the masterful handling of the narrative, in terms of nothing but an entertaining parable, lets the dense message flow without any pretensions of `avant-garde' stylist truculence. M
This Egyptian, French production is really my favourite film. It just touches you. The way a modern theme, fundementalism is placed in a 14th century setting without losing any of the sharp edges involving the subject. If you're in to political engaged movies, watch this one. If you're in to musicals, watch this one. If you're in to historical movies, watch this one. If you're in to Arab movies, watch this one. It just keeps your attention throughout the entire movie. It's a happy movie but yet has a heavy tone. And, God I like them Tambourines!
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