“An Arabian dream that weaves timeless story threads with mystical and Sufi elements into a beautiful film object. . . as fascinating as reading a new chapter of 1,001 Nights.”  - - Deborah Young, Variety


Synopsis

A visual poem of incomparable beauty, this masterpiece from director Nacer Khemir (Wanderers of the Desert) begins with the story of a blind dervish named Bab’Aziz and his spirited granddaughter, Ishtar. Together they wander the desert in search of a great reunion of dervishes that takes place just once every thirty years.

Bab'Aziz - The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul



With faith as their only guide, the two journey for days through the expansive, barren landscape. To keep Ishtar entertained, Bab’Aziz relays the ancient tale of a prince who relinquished his realm in order to remain next to a small pool in the desert, staring into its depths while contemplating his soul.

 

 

As the tale of the prince unfolds, the two encounter other travelers with stories of their own - including Osman, who longs for the beautiful woman he met at the bottom of a well, and Zaid, who searches for the ravishing young woman who fled from him after being seduced by his songs. Filled with breathtaking images and wonderful music, Nacir Khemir has created a fairytale-like story of longing and belonging, filmed in the enchanting and ever-shifting sandscapes of Tunisia and Iran.

Cast:

Parviz Shahinkhou - Bab’Aziz
Maryam Hamid - Ishtar
Nessim Kahloul - Zaid
Mohamed Grayaa - Osman
Maryam Mohaid
Hossein Panahi
Golshifteh Farahani - Nour


Reviews:

“A structurally audacious fairy tale that imparts moral lessons and shows how narratives reflect and shape life… cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari frames the dunes, rock formations and sandblasted village and cities with a poet’s eye, turning real spaces into dreamscapes.”
–Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times

“The breathtaking desert landscapes that dominate Nacer Khemir’s beautiful, elliptical Middle East drama deserve the big screen… you’ll remember the dreamlike state the film induces long after the credits roll.”
–New York Magazine

“cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari infuses the screen with sumptuous yet unemphatic colors, filtered through sun and wind and sand. There’s nothing forced about Bab’Aziz; its ideas resonate quietly, building to a breathtaking climax.”
–Sheri Linden, LA Times

“Tunisian filmmaker Nacer Khemir spins an exquisite, mystical tone poem of a film… the arrival of Bab’Aziz - The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul is, to misuse a dervish cliché, something worth singing and dancing about.”
–Phil Hall, Film Threat

“An Arabian dream that weaves timeless story threads with mystical and Sufi elements into a beautiful film object…..as fascinating as reading a new chapter of 1,001 Nights.”
–Deborah Young, Variety

“Watching it is like entering another realm in both form and content, which is what makes the film so intriguing, especially in this day and age of the so-called “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West.”
–Ed Rampell, Los Angeles Journal