Al-Risâlah (1976)
Genre: Drama / History
Duration: 207 minuten
Alternative titles: The Message / Ar-Risâlah / الرسالة
Country:
Libya / Egypt / Morocco / Saudi Arabia
Directed by: Moustapha Akkad
Stars: Abdallah Ghaith, Mona Wassef and Ali Achmed Taram
IMDb score:
8,9 (12.165)
Releasedate: 9 March 1976
Al-Risâlah plot
Arabic version of The Message (1976). The film tells the story of the prophet Mohammed who liberates the city of Mecca with his followers and the history of the Quran and the Muslims.
Reviews & comments
wendyvortex
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- 5309 messages
- 7330 votes
The emergence of Islam with a cast of thousands.
Notably absent is Mohammed himself (because he is not allowed to be depicted, he is not seen or heard in person here - although we sometimes get scenes in Mohammed's-eye-view).
Unfortunately, it's all quite cheap looking and the fight scenes score better than the inspiration scenes.
Islam is presented here as a peaceful religion with equality for men and women and a Christian even comes to offer help to Mohammed.
Nice to see once, but almost three hours is quite a long time to sit here.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Spetie
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- 38871 messages
- 8559 votes
An epic film of over three hours, you really have to sit down for it and that's what I did.
The fact is quite interesting, as is the history of Islam itself, which I actually didn't know all that much about. When I read the story in advance, I saw that the film is about the prophet Mohammed. It was all the more striking that you hardly saw him on screen. I understand the reason, but it still remains somewhat strange.
The film itself, besides the interesting story, doesn't have much to offer. It's certainly not bad, but there are also parts that are less interesting. The acting is good, however, as is the time frame that is created. It all looks very good and authentic.
In the end I still end up with a sufficient score. Some parts were a bit long-winded, but it is not boring and the film is well put together. The ending took quite a while, because my version lasted almost 195 minutes and not 170 as indicated here with the film.
3.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10264 messages
- 4804 votes
Seen the Arabic version of The Message. It seemed to me the better version anyway, without foreign actors playing Muslims. It is a sober-looking (intended for educational purposes), but clear explanation of the beginning of Islam. Not too much show but therefore no less beautiful to watch. It struck me that there are ultimately many similarities with Christianity. For example, Jesus and Mohammed are both the messengers of a monotheistic faith. A fundamental difference is that in contrast to Jesus, Mohammed allowed violence early on to protect the new faith (also shown in the film). Time is spent showing the battles of Badr and Uhud, the first armed conflicts of the Muslims, from which martyrdom also came. In monotheism (both Christianity and Islam) everything is based on blind obedience to one god and his words or laws. That immediately also excludes openness to other forms of faith.
But there is something pure in those early days of Islam and in the film you see many stages that are important to understand Islam better: the renunciation of pre-Islamic idols, the revelation to Mohammed, the power of unification and fraternity under one banner, the flight to Medina and the foundation of the first mosque, the wars against Mecca, the first conversions, and finally the symbolism of the Ka'aba.
I understood that I did not mind that Mohammed was not shown, and it contributes to the mystique of the prophet.
Three and a half hours was quite long, but the subject is so fascinating that I was rarely bored. Sometimes it gets repetitive by regurgitating that message to the point of boredom, but overall I found this a well-handled and educational film about the historical foundations of Islam while the more substantive aspects, such as the complex interpretations and derivative movements, are ignored. A great film actually, even for non-Muslims.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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