Mystic Iran: The Unseen World

Starring:Farshad Aryana, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Director: Aryana Farshad
Studio: Wellspring Media
Product Type: DVD

Description

Join filmmaker Aryana Farshad on a mesmerizing journey deep into the heart of her native Iran. Shot entirely on location, this unprecedented cinematic tour reveals spiritual rites and rituals hidden for centuries. From the women's chamber of the Great Mosque, to the temple-caves in the land of Zarathustra, to the sacred dance of the Dervishes in Kurdistan, discover religious ceremonies and locations never before seen by the outside world.

Customer Reviews:

Mesmerizing documentary.......2007-03-29

I just saw this film on PBS last night. I was truly blown away. Taken on it's own merits, this film is a transcendent and fascinating portrait of modern Sufists and Zoroastrianists (sp?), particularly focusing on a sect of travelling female dervishes in modern Iran. These are religious groups that are somewhat secretive, and not usually seen by outsiders, so this was a truly unique opportunity to be able to film them during their daily lives and the rituals they practice.

After watching it, I felt that the documentary was a bit too short to focus on an overview of the mysical and spiritual traditons of Iran. Indeed these groups seem to be sort of lumped together in the film-maker's presentation. I also felt that the narrative, while it was quite interesting, did not go deeply enough into the history and beliefs of these groups, and tended toward mystical exposition about 'God' to explain the transcendent practices of the dervishes. This is a minor criticism, and not enough to make the film un-watchable, but I wish there was a more scholarly exploration of these seperate groups and their rich histories within Iran, and some mention of the mystical religious beliefs of other groups not covered in this film. I think from the title I expected a broad overview of Iran's mystical heritage, but it is an exploration of a few Sufist and Zoroastrianist sects, and the rituals these people use. I did feel that the filmmakers got a very unique opportunity to film these sects, particularly the female dervishes, who usually worship in private and to my knowledge have never allowed themselves to be filmed by outsiders before. It is impressive that they were allowed to follow these women into their homes and see things not seen by outsiders.

The filmmaker does show some of the more extreme practices of the believers, particularly as one dervish woman goes into a trance while she is cooking, as another woman begins chanting. She is drawn to the fire, sticking her hands into it, dancing on the coals, and grabbing a large, burning piece of wood to swallow the fire. As another viewer mentioned, this may seem very bizarre to some western viewers. I personally feel that the inclusion of these scenes should have merited more explanations of the underlying beliefs and practices, or perhaps have been shown with no narration. As it is presented, the viewer is left with many questions, and a somewhat lop-sided perspective of these people's beliefs. I do feel the film itself is quite good, but I find that the footage is not fully done justice by the perspective given by the filmmaker's narrative.

I do recommend this film to students of religion and people interested in the roots of mystical tradition in Ancient Persia and how it survives today in modern Iran. Perhaps the viewer will be compelled to read some of the source scholarship themselves to provide a broader perspective to the sects portrayed here.

Mystic Iran: The Unseen World.......2006-04-04

This is a great documentary for anyone who is interested in the religions of Iran. This is a rare film in that it disscusses Iranian religious philosophy from an Iranian woman's perspective. This documentry is one of the few that allows people a glimpse into the women's section of the mosque in Qum and features women derveshes, which until recently was almost unknown to many sufi scholars. Most importantly, Farshad drives in the point that Iran/Persia has always had religious diversity and that Persians have their own unique ways of expressing these beliefs. It also demonstrates the role of women in Iranian/Persian religious culture. Finally, this documentry provides non-Iranians with something that is often excluded in western and Iranian State media, in that it shows that Iranians are not mindless slaves to the Ayotollah or to Islam, but have their own views and ideas about religion and society beyond cannonical regulations (which is not that different from the USA). And though a great deal of this video focuses on kurdish sufis, it is still a great educational experience.

Fascinating Journey.......2005-10-17

This film gives a rarely seen look at the practices of a particular group. It is wonderfully filmed, with sights and sounds that really give you a feel for what you see unfolding before you. Watching the men and women go into trance, with the pulsating sound of the handdrums, and the chanting, and the the hair flipping back and forth....it's quite mesmerizing.
Those who feel this doesn't really represent what they want it to simply should go make their own film. Okay, that's rather flippant..maybe they should just accept that it is what it is. If they have other things to recommend, fine. No need to put it down because it's not what they wanted.

God and Allah are not the same........2005-10-05

I was just watching the short film "Mystic Iran." ...If anyone thinks the word God that Aryana Farshad uses thoughout this film is similar, parallel or the same to Allah, you'd be wrong--she is.

In this film, a woman goes into a trance and she quenches a burning piece of wood with her mouth among other things, God would never make you do things to mutilate, harm, nor cut your body.

Ms. Farshad should have used "Allah" throughout the film to describe all these rituals and creed practiced by these Sufis (Darvishes). So glad my God is real and is not in a tomb, nor induces us to eat fire and walk in it (big sigh).

Beautiful, but the title misleads.......2005-09-22

This documentary - while wonderfully shot by a talented video crew - is less than an hour long, so there's only so much the director could cover. I was hoping for more depth or even mention of facets of 'mystic Iran' other than Sufi practice, such as Shi'a rituals and devotion at the shrines of Shi'a saints. The documentary, as others have pointed out, is primarily about a specific group of Sufis, focusing on the women of the group. Thus, while I don't think this was the director's intent at all, it does come across as somewhat Orientalist. Sufis are interesting, but I wanted to see Karbala!

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