The Messiah (Iranian film)

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The Messiah (Iranian film)
The Messiah
The Messiah

Mesih, more commonly and officially referred to as 'The Messiah' [1][2][3][4][5], but also referred to as 'Jesus'[6], "Good Tidings of the Savior" in Persian[7], 'Jesus, the Spirit of God'[8][9][10][11][12], 'Messia'[13] is a 2008 Iranian film from the Islamic Republic of Iran, directed by Nader Talebzadeh, depicting the life of Jesus from an Islamic perspective, based not only on the canonical gospels, but also the Qur'an, and, it would seem, the Gospel of Barnabas.[14] which conforms to the Islamic interpretation of Christian origins. Some Islamic organizations cite it in support of the Islamic view of Jesus.

Iranian actor, Ahmad Soleimani Nia plays the role of Jesus.[15][16][17]

The director sees his film "as an Islamic answer to Western productions like Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, which he praised as admirable but quite simply "wrong"."[18] The film has two endings, one from the Christian bible and one from the Qur'an.

It is a two-hour-plus feature film and a TV series shot for Iranian TV.[19]. The movie will be adapted into a television series to be shown on Iranian TV later this year.[20]

Variety stated that "With over 1,000 actors and extras, it is one of the largest film productions ever attempted in Iran. It will air as 20 45-minute episodes after a theatrical version is released here."[19]

It hit the Philidelphia film festival. [21]

Contents

[edit] Plot

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The gospels seen through a very different lens is the brief summary of what "The Messiah" is all about. Never has there been an attempt to portray Jesus, the great prophet of God from a mutually Muslim and Christian perspective. Perhaps what had been lacking in the popular media in the twentieth century is made up in the first years of the twenty first.

Cast and shot with the best in Iranian cinema which has proven itself in international arenas, this project strives to reach an international audience. The fruit of a vast research that spans the spectrum of Christian and Muslim sources, it will push to challenge many contemporary beliefs, that have become callused through the centuries.

The appearance of Jesus as prophet of God who is trapped within conspiracies to eradicate his message and to abolish his mission is the key plot in this twenty part series. Furthermore, the pronouncement of the coming of the final prophet of God after Jesus, the missing-link between Christianity and Islam is emphatically portrayed. It is this luminous path through which the viewer is guided in this historical religious revelation.

In the final episode, the ascension of Jesus unto heaven is the ultimate unifying code between Christians and Muslims alike. The story will depict this final turn of events and inevitably hearken the believers worldwide for the final appearance of the Apocalypse.

[edit] Crew

  • Director of Photography : Sadegh Mianji
  • Sound : Seyyed Jalal Hosseini
  • Set & Costume Designer : Ahmad Soleimani-Nia
  • Make-up Designer : Morteza Zarrabi
  • Executive Producer : Abdollah Sa'eedi
  • Production Assistant : Sa'eed Kazemi

[edit] Awards

The Vatican has given the movie an award for promoting interfaith understanding, at Rome's 2007 Religion Today Film Festival in Italy.[22][23][24]

[edit] Anti-semitism

As with Gibson's movie, it is being portrayed in one article as being anti-Semitic.[25]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ AFP: 'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens
  2. ^ ABC News: Story of Jesus Through Iranian Eyes
  3. ^ New Jesus film through the eyes of a Muslim director
  4. ^ Nader Talebzadeh, Iranian Director
  5. ^ Jesus From a Muslim Perspective « TheDeeZone
  6. ^ Iran Daily - Arts & Culture - 09/30/07
  7. ^ 'Messiah' has Islamic take on Jesus - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
  8. ^ Bible Films Blog: ABC on Jesus the Spirit of God
  9. ^ Islamic Jesus Movie: From Iran With Love! How Long Before TBN Airs It? « Jesus Christology
  10. ^ Directions to Orthodoxy - 'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens
  11. ^ 'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens | Iranian.com
  12. ^ 'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens
  13. ^ Nader Talebzadeh, Iranian Director
  14. ^ Bible Films Blog: ABC on Jesus the Spirit of God
  15. ^ Islamic Jesus hits Iranian movie screens
  16. ^ Press TV - Iranian film on the life of Jesus in US
  17. ^ tehran times : “Jesus” reflects Muslim belief in Philadelphia filmfest
  18. ^ AFP: 'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens
  19. ^ a b 'Messiah' has Islamic take on Jesus - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
  20. ^ ABC News: Story of Jesus Through Iranian Eyes
  21. ^ tehran times : “Jesus” reflects Muslim belief in Philadelphia filmfest
  22. ^ Islamic Jesus Movie: From Iran With Love! How Long Before TBN Airs It? « Jesus Christology
  23. ^ Islamic Jesus : BenettonTalk
  24. ^ AFP: 'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens
  25. ^ Muslim view of Jesus, with anti-Semitism | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/04/2008

[edit] External links