BABA AZIZ

{ THE PRINCE WHO CONTEMPLATED HIS SOUL}

NACER KHEMIR
 OUTLINE

• NACER KHEMIR.
• SOME OF NACER’S MOVIES
• BABA AZIZ “EVENTS”
• MOVIE REVIEW
• WHY THIS MOVIE “ NACER KHEMIR”
• THE MEANING BEHIND THE TITLE “ THE PRINCE WHO CONTEMPLATED HIS SOUL”
• WHAT IS SUFISM
• WHAT DOES DERVISH MEAN?
• THE MUSIC
 NACER KHEMIR

oNACER KHEMIR WAS BRON IN 1 APRIL 1948.

oHE IS A TUNISIAN WRITER, STORYTELLER,
FILMMAKER AND PAINTER.
oKHEMIR WAS INTERESTED IN CLASSICAL
ARABIC CULTURE.
 NACER KHEMIR

o 1966, AT THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN HE WAS AWARDED A UNESCO FELLOWSHIP TO

STUDY FILM IN PARIS.
o IN 1975, HE COMPLETED HIS FIRST FILM, THE HISTORY OF GOD’S COUNTRY,
SHOT IN HIS HOMETOWN OF KORBA IN TUNISIA.
o HE WAS TRYING TO CHANGE THE WORLD’S VIEW TOWARDS ISLAM AS A
RELIGION AND THE WORLD’S VIEW OF THE ARABIC CULTURE
 HIS MOVIES

❖ RELEASED IN 1984, HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM, WANDERERS OF THE DESERT

GARNERED INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM.
❖ THE FILM, WHICH TELLS THE STORY OF A SCHOOLTEACHER'S ARRIVAL IN A STRANGE
AND HAUNTING DESERT TOWN, WAS AWARDED THE GRAND PRIX AT THE FESTIVAL DES
TROIS CONTINENTS.

❖1991, THE DOVE’S LOST NECKLACE

❖WANDERERS OF THE DESERT AND LE COLLIER PERDU DE LA COMBE ARE CONSIDERED TO FORM
THE 1ST TWO PARTS OF DESERT TRILOGY THE 3RD PART OF BABA AZIZ, THE PRINCE WHO
CONTEMPLATED HIS SOUL 2005
 BABA AZIZ “EVENTS”

o THE MOVIE STARTS WITH AN OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDDAUGHTER

HIDING FROM A STORM
o THEY START THEIR JOURNEY
WALKING ACROSS THE DESERT TO THE GATHERING.
o BABA AZIZ HAS NO IDEA WHERE THE GATHERING IS, BUT HE
BELIEVES THAT IF HE FOLLOWS HIS FAITH HE WILL FIND IT.
o THROUGHOUT THEIR JOURNEY, THEY WILL ENCOUNTER MANY
STRANGERS.
o THE GRANDDAUGHTER LOVES TO LISTEN TO STORIES FROM HER
GRANDFATHER.
o ISHTAR{ THE GRANDDAUGHTER} WANTED TO GO HOME, SINCE
BABA AZIZ DOESN’T KNOW WHERE THE GATHERING IS.
o BABA AZIZ WILL TRY TO TAKE HER TO THE ROAD
TO RETURN HOME
o YOUNG MAN APPEARED TO BE INSANE BEHIND A TREE.
HE ATTACKED BABA AZIZ, MISTAKING HIM FOR ANOTHER MAN.
o AS THE NIGHTFALLS, ISHTAR STARTS TO COLLECT WOODS TO
SET FIRE
o THEN BABA AZIZ STARTS
TELLING HER A STORY
❑ THE STORY REVOLVES AROUND A PRINCE WHO WAS AT HIS CAMP IN THE DESERT
ENJOYING HIS TIME, THEN HE WILL SEE A GAZELLE.
❑ THE PRINCE WILL FOLLOW IT
❑ HIS SERVANT WILL REALIZE THAT THE PRINCE GOT LOST IN THE
DESERT.
❑ HE WILL GO TO THE TOWN TELLING PEOPLE THAT THE PRINCE GOT
LOST, HOWEVER, THEY DID NOT FIND THE PRINCE
❑ ONE DAY A DARVISH WILL
FIND THE PRINCE, BUT CONTEMPLATING.
❑ THEY DID NOT WANT TO WAKE HIM FROM HIS CONTEMPLATING, SO A
DARVISH DECIDED TO LOOK AFTER HIM ALL THAT PERIOD.
❑ ISHTAR FALLS ASLEEP
• IN THE MORNING BABA, AZIZ AND ISHTAR WILL START THEIR JOURNEY TO THE
GATHERING.
• A YOUNG MAN{ ZAID} WILL ASK THEM ABOUT THE ROAD TO THE GATHERING BABA AZIZ
WILL SAY JUST FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND YOUR BEAUTIFUL VOICE , YOU WILL FIND THE
ROAD.
• ISHATR AND BABA AZIZ WILL GO THROUGH THE DESERT AND THE MAN WILL FOLLOW
THEM TO THE SAME DESTINATION
• ALL OF THEM WILL FIND FINALLY THE GATHERING
• THE GIRL WILL NOTICE THAT A YOUNG MAN CALLED OSMAN IS RESCUED FROM DROWNING IN
THE WELL,
• BUT HE BELIEVES THAT HE FOUND HIS PALACE THERE
• HE WANTED TO RETURN.
• BABA AZIZ WILL ASK HIM TO RETELL HIS STORY
• THEN HE WILL START TELLING THEM ABOUT HIS OWN JOURNEY
AND HOW HE WAS GOING TO CHANGE HIS OWN LIFE WHEN
HE FALLS INTO THE WELL.
• BABA AZIZ AND ISHTAR WILL LEAVE THE PLACE AND THEY WILL GO TO A
MOSQUE WHERE MANY PRACTICES OF THE SUFI ARE TAKING PLACE.
• DANCING AND SINGING
• ISHTAR THEN WILL SEE A GAZELLE AND SHE WILL FOLLOW IT
• HER GRANDFATHER WILL NOTICE THAT ISHTAR IS NOT AROUND
• HE WILL LOOK FOR HER, BUT WITHOUT ANY RESULT, THEN ZAID WILL APPEAR WITH ISHTAR.
• ZAID WILL TAKE ISHTAR TO THE MOSQUE
• BABA AZIZ WILL START PRAYING WHILE ZAID IS TELLING HER
HIS LOVE STORY
• ZAID WHO FALLS IN LOVE WITH NOOR
• SHE STOLE HIS MONEY, CLOTHES
AND PASSPORT TO LOOK FOR HER FATHER
• AFTER A WHILE, ISHATAR, BABA AZIZ AND ZAID WILL START THEIR JOURNEY AGAIN WALKING
ACROSS THE DESERT
• BUT, BABA AZIZ STOPS SAYING THAT HE FOUND HIS DESTINATION BESIDE A GRAVE.
• HE WILL ASK ISHTAR TO GO WITH ZAID AND TO LOOK FOR NOOR , SINCE HE HAS COME TO HIS
END.
• ISHATR AND ZAID WILL FIND NOUR IN A GATHERING SINGING
• BABA AZIZ WILL TAKE OFF THE CLOTHES OF DARVISH HE WORE
• HE WAS THE PRINCE WHO CONTEMPLATED HIS SOUL
 FILM REVIEW

• THIS VISUALLY STUNNING FILM, FILMED IN THE SANDSCAPES OF TUNISIA AND IRAN, PRESENTS A MULTI-LEVELED GLIMPSE OF SUFISM, THE
MYSTICAL EXPRESSION OF ISLAM. BABA ’AZIZ ENCHANTS WITH ITS BEAUTIFUL AND PROFOUND DEPICTIONS OF THE LOVE THAT ANIMATES OUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BELOVED, WITH THE WORLD, AND WITH OUR NEIGHBORS.
• A BLIND DERVISH WHO INTIMATELY KNOWS THE DESERT AND ITS AUSTERITIES AND BEAUTIES. HE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE SUFI ADAB,
A PRACTICE INCORPORATING HUMILITY, COURTESY, KINDNESS, A REVERENCE FOR THE WORLD, AND DEEP RESPECT FOR OTHERS. WITH HIS
YOUNG GRANDDAUGHTER ISHTAR, HE IS ON HIS WAY TO THE GATHERING.
• ALTHOUGH SHE IS ANXIOUS ABOUT FINDING THE PLACE AND GETTING THERE ON TIME AS THEY WANDER FOR DAYS OVER THE DUNES OF THE
DESERT, HE ASSURES HER THAT THOSE WHO ARE MEANT TO ATTEND WILL FIND THE WAY.
• BABA AZIZ CALLS ISHATR A LITTLE ANGEL AND LETS HER KNOW THAT THE DIMPLE ON HER CHIN SIGNIFIES THE GRACE OF GOD WHICH HAS
BLESSED HER.
• TO KEEP HIS GRANDDAUGHTER ENTERTAINED ON A COLD NIGHT, ABAB AZIZ TELLS HER THE STORY OF A PRINCE WHO ONE DAY FOLLOWS THE
GAZELLE ACROSS THE DESERT, LEAVING BEHIND HIS LIFE OF LUXURY. HE IS FOUND LATER GAZING INTO A POOL OF WATER. THE DERVISH
WATCHING OVER HIM EXPLAINS THAT HE IS CONTEMPLATING HIS SOUL. HIS PEOPLE ARE ASTONISHED THAT HE COULD CHOOSE THE INVISIBLE
WORLD OVER THE MORE ALLURING VISIBLE ONE HE HAD INHERITED, BUT THEY LEAVE HIM ALONE.
 FILM REVIEW
• THIS TALE IS A JUXTAPOSITION WITH THE STORIES OF SEVERAL OTHER CHARACTERS, INCLUDING AN
ARE-HAIRED WHO SEES HIS JOB OF SWEEPING IN THE MOSQUE AS AN ACT OF DEVOTION TO THE
BELOVED, ZAID, A GIFTED SINGER WHO IS SEARCHING FOR NOOR, THE BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER OF A
SUFI SONGWRITER, AND OSMAN, WHO YEARNS FOR THE PLACE AND THE WOMAN HE DISCOVERED
WHEN HE FEELS INTO THE WELL. THE STORY OF THE PRINCE AND THE QUESTS OF THESE THREE
CHARACTERS ALL ILLUSTRATE THE YEARNING THAT DRIVES SUFIS TO SEEK INTIMACY WITH THE
BELOVED, IT IS A LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET THEM GO.
• THE SCREENPLAY, WRITTEN BY NACER AND TONOI GUERRA, IS BUILT AROUND DIGNITY, DEVOTION,
AND DEPTH OF BABA AZIZ. ALTHOUGH HE CAN NOT SEE, HE IS TOTALLY ATTENTIVE TO EVERYTHING
THAT GOES ON AROUND HIM. HE IS NOT ATTACHED TO POSSESSIONS OR WORRIED ABOUT THE
OPINION OF OTHERS. AT ONE POINT, ISHTAR SEES A BAND OF PILGRIMS HEAD OFF IN ONE
DIRECTION AND WANTS TO FOLLOW BUT HER GRANDFATHER ASSURES HER THAT EVERYONE MUST
FIND HIS OR HER OWN WAY TO THE GATHERING.
• BABA AZIZ MIRRORS RUMI’S UNDERSTANDING OF DEATH AS THE WEDDING DAY. HE UNDERSTANDS
THAT BOTH LIFE AND DEATH ARE GIFTS. AND ALSO DO ALL THE DERVISHES WHO OFFER THEIR
DANCES AND THEIR SONGS TO THE BELOVED WHEN THE COMMUNITY OF MYSTICS GATHERS AT THE
END OF THE FILM. AS WE WATCHED ALL THE BEGUILING IMAGES ON THE SCREEN AND LISTENED TO
THE IMPRESSIVE SOUNDTRACK, WE THOUGHT OF THIS PRAYER BY THE SUFI.
 WHY THIS MOVIE

• I WOULD EXPLAIN IT WITH THIS ALLEGORY:

• IF YOU ARE WALKING ALONGSIDE YOUR FATHER AND HE SUDDENLY FALLS DOWN, HIS FACE IN THE
MUD, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? YOU WOULD HELP HIM STAND UP, AND WIPE HIS FACE WITH YOUR
SHIRT. MY FATHER’S FACE STANDS FOR ISLAM, AND I TRIED TO WIPE ISLAM’S FACE CLEAN WITH MY
MOVIE, BY SHOWING AN OPEN, TOLERANT, AND FRIENDLY ISLAMIC CULTURE, FULL OF LOVE AND
WISDOM . . . AN ISLAM THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE DEPICTED BY THE MEDIA
• FUNDAMENTALISM, AS WELL AS THE RADICALISM, IS A DISTORTING MIRROR OF ISLAM.
• THIS MOVIE IS A MODEST EFFORT TO GIVE ISLAM ITS REAL IMAGE BACK. NO OTHER MISSION SEEMED
AS URGENT TO ME AS THIS ONE: TO GIVE A "FACE" TO HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MUSLIMS WHO ARE
OFTEN, IF NOT ALWAYS, THE FIRST VICTIMS OF TERRORISM CAUSED BY SOME FUNDAMENTALIST.
• AND ALTHOUGH THIS MOVIE IS BASED ON THE JOYFUL AND LOVE-GIVING SUFI TRADITION, IT IS ALSO
A HIGHLY POLITICAL FILM, AND DELIBERATELY SO. IT IS A DUTY NOWADAYS TO SHOW TO THE WORLD
ANOTHER ASPECT OF ISLAM, OTHERWISE, EACH ONE OF US WILL BE STIFLED BY HIS OWN IGNORANCE
OF "THE OTHER ONE."
• THERE ARE NEARLY ONE BILLION MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD TODAY, THAT’S ONE-
SIXTH OF THE EARTH’S INHABITANTS. TO TRY YOUR BEST TO KNOW YOUR
NEIGHBOR BETTER IS A FORM OF HOSPITALITY.
• HOSPITALITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT HOUSING PEOPLE AND FEEDING THEM;
HOSPITALITY IS ABOUT LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING. YOU CANNOT RECEIVE
SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSE, JUST FEED HIM AND IGNORE HIM! IN MY OPINION, THIS
IS A MOVIE THAT ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND, PERHAPS
FURTHER DOWN THE LINE, TO REALLY COME TOGETHER. WATCHING THIS MOVIE IS A
WAY OF OFFERING HOSPITALITY TO "THE OTHER ONE."
 THE REASON WHY HE CHOSE THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE
• IT IS TRUE THAT THE PRINCE LEANS OVER THE WATER, BUT HE DOES NOT SEE HIS OWN
FACE LIKE NARCISSUS DID, BECAUSE WHOEVER SEES ONLY HIS REFLECTION IN THE
WATER IS INCAPABLE OF LOVE.
• THE PRINCE CONTEMPLATES WHAT IS INVISIBLE, THAT IS HIS OWN SOUL. WE ARE ALL
SIMILAR TO ICEBERGS; ONLY ONE-TENTH OF US IS VISIBLE, WHILE THE REST LIES UNDER
THE SEA.
• THE IDEA OF THE "PRINCE" CAME TO ME FROM A BEAUTIFUL PLATE THAT WAS PAINTED
IN IRAN IN THE 12TH CENTURY.
• IT SHOWS A PRINCE LEANING OVER THE WATER, AND IT CARRIES THE FOLLOWING
INSCRIPTION "THE PRINCE WHO CONTEMPLATED HIS OWN SOUL." THIS IMAGE STRUCK ME
AS SOMETHING I HAD TO BUILD UPON, WHICH IS WHY IT SEEMED OBVIOUS TO ME THAT
THE MOVIE SHOULD BE SHOT IN IRAN.
• MAKING A FILM AS CONTINUITY TO A 12TH CENTURY ARTIST! I DON’T KNOW IF IT WAS
SHEER COINCIDENCE (OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?), BUT WE SHOT PARTS OF THE MOVIE
IN THE CITY OF KASHAN, WHICH IS THE CITY WHERE THIS PLATE WAS MADE!
 WHAT IS SUFISM

• ONE COULD ALSO SAY THAT SUFISM IS THE PULSATING HEART OF ISLAM.
• FAR FROM BEING A MARGINAL PHENOMENON, IT IS THE ESOTERIC DIMENSION OF THE ISLAMIC MESSAGE.
• LOVE HAS MANY SHAPES IN THE MOVIE.
• THE EXAMPLE OF ISHTAR, THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS BORN FROM THE SAND, LIKE THE ARABIC LANGUAGE, IS
REMINISCENT OF THE LETTER "WAW", WHICH IN ARABIC MEANS "AND." THE SUFIS CALL IT THE LETTER OF LOVE,
BECAUSE, WITHOUT IT, NOTHING CAN COME TOGETHER. WE SAY "THE SEA AND THE SKY," AND
"MAN AND WOMAN." THE "WAW" IS THE MEETING PLACE, THUS IT IS THE PLACE OF LOVE. IT IS ALSO THE LETTER OF
THE TRAVELER BECAUSE IT GATHERS TOGETHER THINGS AND BEINGS.
• SUFISM, IS A MYSTICAL ISLAMIC BELIEF AND PRACTICE IN WHICH MUSLIMS SEEK TO FIND THE TRUTH OF DIVINE
LOVE AND KNOWLEDGE THROUGH DIRECT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF GOD.
SUFISM, ALSO KNOWN AS TASAWWUF, IS A MYSTIC BRANCH OF ISLAM MARKED
BY AN EMPHASIS ON ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY
 WHAT DOES DERVISH MEAN?

• THE WORD "DERVISH" MEANS "SUFI" IN PERSIAN.

• BUT WITH TIME, IT WAS USED TO REFER TO THOSE WHO CHOSE POVERTY AND
WANDERING. THEY PUT THE WORLD ASIDE AND ENTER INTO A QUEST OF
POVERTY AND LOVE.
• I WANTED TO GIVE AN IDEA OF WHAT SEEMS ALIVE IN THE ISLAMIC-ARAB
CULTURE: THIS ENDLESS QUEST FOR THE ABSOLUTE AND THE INFINITE.
 THE MUSIC

• THIS MOVIE WAS SHOT IN BOTH THE IRANIAN CENTRAL DESERT, NEAR
ANNARAK, AND IN THE TUNISIAN DESERT, IN TATAOUINE.
• THE POPULAR AND SCHOLARLY TRADITIONS OF ARAB, PERSIAN, AND TURKISH
CULTURES. THE "BARAKA," THE BLESSING, SPRINGS OUT OF THIS VOICE AND
ENVELOPS AND PERMEATES HUMANS, PLACES AND OBJECTS. VOCAL MUSIC IS
OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY DANCES, AS IN THE PERFORMANCES OF WHIRLING
DERVISHES, WHO DANCE WITH ONE HAND DIRECTED TOWARDS THE SKY, IN
ORDER TO RECEIVE THE DIVINE BLESSING, AND THE OTHER HAND DIRECTED
TOWARDS THE EARTH, TO TRANSMIT THIS BLESSING TO THE AUDIENCE.
 “WHO HAS FAITH WILL NEVER GET LOST”. “BABA AZIZ”

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS FEEL FREE TO VOICE YOURSELF.
YOUR INSIGHT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.

NOHAILA ELGARTE GROUP 4 SEMESTER 4 MEDIA STUDIES PROFESSOR

R.AITABDELMOUMEN