The 13th Warrior is a depiction of a fantasy which is more real than reality. The film is of significance to the modern day audience for it offers an archetypal pattern very different from the usual course of Hollywood. It is a medieval account of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, a Muslim ethnographer, who after falling in love with a married woman, is exiled from Baghdad into Northern Europe as an ambassador.
Tag: Film Reviews
The Silence of Jona
(Originally published on the Film International website.) What is the last resort in the face of ubiquitous evil? Reza Mirkarimi’s Today has a simple, yet astonishing answer: silence. Today, Iran’s representative in this year’s Academy Awards competition for Best Foreign Language Film, has been underestimated thus far. Nevertheless, it contains all main traits that have universalized … Continue reading The Silence of Jona
Robocop (2014) and Operation Freedom Tehran
There is a wee contradiction—most probably an error in theory—in the 2014 reanimation of Robocop that reverses the whole hero-villain dynamic of the film. At the onset, we are shown an American army of robots “securing” the streets in “Operation Freedom Tehran”. Then a group of Iranian suicide bombers attack the robots and make sure the … Continue reading Robocop (2014) and Operation Freedom Tehran
KARA ABDOLMALEKI 