If you enjoy movies like Gladiator and Braveheart, you will enjoy The Message. Although The Message was never that popular in America, The Message reflects some of the most amazing battle scenes, miraculous incidents, and conflict of ideas ever seen in the movies. The Message is not a great movie in terms of pure enjoyment and pleasure, but it is more revolutionary in the ideas presented in it (Tribal_chief). The Message is a movie that breaks from the rest of the movie industry in that the main character is never even seen or heard from in the movie. Even though the Prophet Muhammad, the main character, is not seen, he is the center of talk, and sometimes the camera looks from his point of view. Moustapha Akkad, the director of this film, has done an astounding job in creating this movie. The main actors in The Message are Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, and Michael Ansara. This film was a true delight to watch. This great motion picture has inside it one of the most entertaining plots in any movie I have seen and like all good films it contains weaknesses and strengths, which can be described best in terms of the elements of film.
It is amazing that the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims can be presented in a two hour and eighty minute film. The movie is very stretchy, but keeps the viewer captivated through the plot and the building up of the sequence of events. The story begins with the narrator talking about the political and religious nature of Mecca in 610 A.D. The Kaaba which is believed by Muslims to be the House of God built by Abraham and Ishmael has been turned into a house of idolatry. The political atmosphere is that of disunity among the Arabs, in which the vacuum of leadership is filled in by the wealthy merchants. Muhammad goes to a mountain and gets revelation from Archangel Gabriel, and comes down blazing with poetry (Nesbit). He gathers a few followers, but the weak followers are put through torture and are murdered by the rulers of Mecca. Muhammad then tells them to go to Abyssinia where a devout Christian king, An-Najashi (Negus), lives. The Meccan merchants try to convince the Abyssinian king to give back the Muslims to them. This leads up to a very sentimental scene where Jafar, one of the companions of the Prophet, gives a very influential speech about Islam’s stances on idolatry, oppression, and Jesus Christ. The Message shows a scene where the Christian king accepts the Muslims saying, “What Christ says and what your Muhammad says is like two rays from the same lamp!” Then Muhammad is invited to Medina by the two tribes of Medina (Aws and Khazraj) to help end civil war and unite the city. Muhammad agrees provided they accept Islam. This event leads to the political phase of Muhammad’s life. He fights the Meccans in two wars and finally makes peace with them. The Meccans, however, break the treaty which results in the Muslims conquering Mecca without spilling any blood. Mecca surrenders and the movie ends with a beautiful scene of 10,000 Muslim soldiers marching into the vicinity of the Kaaba and destroying all the idols chanting, “Truth has come, falsehood has fled away!” Then the narrator reads part of the Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon and shows the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in modern times by Muslims of all colors and races. People are shown praying in African, British, Pakistani and Chinese mosques. The director tries to show the diversity of Muslims all around the world.
The Message has some weak points which are not very significant, but are noticeable nonetheless. The movie is very slow and takes time in getting to the major action scenes like the battles. The beginning is mostly about conflicting ideas in families, in leadership and in the restoration of justice. It drags quite a bit in the beginning, but picks up around the middle. To really enjoy the movie the viewer must have a bit of patience for the plot to unfold. The film lacks special effects and the lighting is halfway decent. It does not break any barriers as far as visuals except the visuals of ancient warfare. Sometimes the lighting and positioning does not feel right, especially when the characters are indoors. The same camera angles are used which gives it a less than professional feel.
The Message starts out with three men dressed in white robes and white capes riding together in unison in the burning sun across the Arabian Desert (Tribal_chief). This exotic feel keeps the viewers more captivated in the film. The film does not lose its exotic and ancient feel, which makes it more appealing to Americans who want to learn about Arabian civilization. The depictions are quite accurate as well. Most films that take place in ancient times are not very accurate according to the time, but The Message makes one appreciate Arabian culture. The clothing, buildings, makeup, and battle scenes depict the age quite nicely. All the men have beards and wear robes with long turbans or just cloths covering from the belly to the knees. The women are dressed more elegantly and have a high influence on the leadership, especially Hind bint Utbah (Irene Papas), who is the wife of Abu Sufyan (Michael Ansara), the most powerful and wealthy merchant in Mecca. The movie shows how the rich oppress the weak and how much injustice is practiced openly to those who are deprived. Jafar when he gives his speech sums this up perfectly when he says, “To this inhumanity has come a man whom God chose and in that we believe (The Message).” The characters for the majority are solid one-dimensional and have little depth, except for Abu Sufyan (Michael Ansara) and Hudayfa bin Utbah, who has to make the choice between Muhammad’s religion and making his father sad or forsaking Islam and going back to idolatry. The actors are very good in presenting their characters in a way that they are believable. John Nesbit says in his review, “The one star to attract for the English speaking version is Anthony Quinn as the desert dwelling Arab who leads Mohammad’s followers confidently into battle with quips like, “They outnumber us, so I say it is a fair fight.” As Hamza, Anthony Quinn is the leading actor in the film and is also the winner of two Oscar awards (Tribal_chief). His acting greatly enhances the movie and makes it much more enjoyable. Irene Papas, however, tends to overact, but she is not as important in the movie as Anthony Quinn, so it doesn’t effect it too badly (Nesbit). Michael Ansara who plays Abu Sufyan also does an excellent job in his role with a complex character who is in conflict with himself. The Music is produced by the Royal Philharmonic in London who are known for their more than superior orchestral talent (Ferguson). The music is composed using Middle Eastern instruments to give the music its Middle Eastern feel. The music is enjoyable and fits in well with the mood of the scenes, however the trumpets sometimes are loud and distracting as in most films of that time. The filming techniques are innovative, especially when they are taken from Muhammad’s point of view. It gives a feel of respect and honor to the Prophet, which by showing his image or his figure would be less. Moustapha Akkad, the director and producer, made this project by himself without the help of Hollywood. Making this movie took lots of money, time, and effort. The director did a wonderful job in presenting the life of the Prophet Muhammad without biases and without offending anyone.
The Message is a timeless film about the astounding life of one man who was recently named one of the most influential men in history by William Baird (Tribal_chief). I believe that anyone who is interested in learning more about Islam and the struggles that the Prophet Muhammad went through should definitely check out this film. This movie is definitely worth the time it takes to watch. I have studied the history of the Prophet, so I can say that this movie is extremely accurate and lacks any major flaws that most movies based on ancient times have. The value of this film to me at least, is worth more than any other film. This movie is one that can change hearts, and rewrite the American history books which often have misleading information about Islam and Muslims. This movie is very entertaining, but it requires a bit of patience and thought to swallow. As the old saying goes, small minds talk about people, large minds talk about events and great minds talk about ideas. That sums the movie up pretty well. A spiritually enhancing film which touches the hearts of many.
Date: 11/9/03
