• ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️



    Film & Television

    Welcome Guest


    ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
  • ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    Forum Rules Film Chit-Chat
    Recently Watched Best Documentaries
    ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

Film good movies about the middle east?

Ds

Ds

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
31,877
could anyone recommend good movies that have to do with the middle east? not necessarily about whats going on now over there, but life in general?

i've been reading "Kite Runner", and going to read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" next.. So to get a good mental image about life over there.
 
Persepolis, idk if that's what you're looking for but it's about a girl from Iran
 
Kandahar and especially the documentary that follows it on the DVD, eye opening.
 
These are all pretty great suggestions. I enjoyed Perseoplis a lot.

I thought "Osama" was good as well as "Paradise Now".
 
What about movies from the Middle East? You'll learn far more by watching these.
 
^Sorry but persepolis was written and directed by an Iranian girl, and Waltz with Bashir by an Israelian.

I'm searching for more films.
 
the Gaza Ghetto, made in 1984 about the Gaza Strip, is about the Palestinian refugee situation and one of the earliest films of its kind. something about the Gaza Strip has always interested me
 
loulou reed said:
^Sorry but persepolis was written and directed by an Iranian girl, and Waltz with Bashir by an Israelian.

I'm searching for more films.
Click to expand...

My opinion is that that you understand the culture more by watching films produced for the culture itself rather than films made for a foreign audience. I'm Persian btw so I've had a pretty good take on this topic.

It really depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for mainly entertainment with a bit of cultural flare, sure, watching movies made for Western audiences is probably best. If you really want to understand these cultures however, there's no better way than to observe as is.
 
^ I understand what you mean. But alas, even great Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has to have some Western audience via the Festival de Cannes to be viewed by our fellow bluelighters.

I don't think that, apart from you and maybe another Persian bluelighter, anybody can now fuel this topic with middle east cinema without going to some internet page talking about some obscure Persian director ;)
 
Ajami. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077262/

it made the short list for the academy awards best foreign film last year. its about "Ajami explores five different stories set in an actual impoverished Christian-and-Muslim Arab neighborhood of the Tel Aviv - Jaffa metropolis, called Ajami."

it's presented in non-chronological order and "events are shown multiple times from different perspectives" its good stuff. the msg i took away from it is you don't see everything that goes on over there (mid east) and people make assumptions based on whats been filtered through various media outlets and we know the media can be pretty bias.

also it has a real, true life feel to it cause of the non-professional actors cast and locations.

trailer

Vice did a couple documentaries about film in the region.

Palestinian Filmmaking.While there a lot of different political factions in Lebanon, this particular episode of Vice Guide to Film focuses on Palestinian refugees and their burgeoning film scene. Film has become one of the most important mediums to get their message out.

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-film--2/palestinian-filmmaking-full-length

Iranian filmmakers are among most prolific and influential in the world today. Their government’s influence over the film industry is unlike any other. In 1978, cinemas were burned to the ground after images of American decadence were shown on screen. The medium itself was outlawed until the Ayatollah Khamenei saw a film he liked, the cinemas were reopened, and the industry grew again.

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-film--2/inside-iranian-cinema-full-length

and one more documentary i recall is Garden ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390036/ )

in your search it might be useful to look up past lists of films nominated for best foreign film @ the academy awards and see what countries from the middle east have films listed.
 
Having lived in the ME for 12 years I can recommend a Dubai-made flick called City of Gold. The plot is multi-stranded drama and fairly represents the Muslim and expat characters featured. It has been well received here. You might also check out two British films: Four Lions, and Infidel. Call them comedies of sorts. IMDb will fill the gaps but they are well worth searching out. Enjoy!
 
Pegasus said:
My opinion is that that you understand the culture more by watching films produced for the culture itself rather than films made for a foreign audience.
Click to expand...

Please give us some names :) [I'd guess Persepolis was targeted at a western audience, but I'd have thought Waltz with Bashir was definitely meant for an Israeli audience, not US/European]

OP: I like Jafar Panahi's work a lot. He's under house arrest at the moment and unable to make films. His work is quite low-key, very realist. Could be slow going if you're used to big-budget Hollywood films.

Maybe start with Offside, which is a bit more polished, but I'd also recommend The White Balloon and The Circle. His work tends to consider the role of the powerless in contemporary Iran - his protagonists are generally female, or young, or both.
 
Crimson Gold (Jafar Panahi) is an Iranian movie I watched a while ago. I remember it being pretty well done
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top