Movie Review:
TWO THUMBS UP FOR "THE DAWN-BREAKERS"

A young man confronts an evil empire and his only "weapon" is a spiritual force. Taken to another time and another place as in the fictional "Star Wars," we find ourselves both far from and near to home. But this time, "The Dawn-Breakers" tells a true story and thrusts us into a gripping insider's view of a truly mysterious place, Iran.

It had to happen. Every time Western experts expect "A," Iran fakes, catches us off guard and scores by doing "B." What's with these people? This film shows the inner workings of the place and its people; our people are lining up to see it.

Third-generation film producer, Jim Keene, chose perhaps the most dramatic and controversial episode in recent Iranian history -- the extraordinary Babi movement.

It's 1843. The earth is agitated by the birth pangs of our modern era amid world-wide economic depression. The skies above have gone crazy. In one event, the biggest comet ever is so bright that it is seen at noon. And, have you forgotten, Christians were literally climbing mountains to view the expected return of Christ.

The young man is a seemingly fragile, uneducated and unknown shopkeeper who adopts the title of "The Bab," meaning "gateway" to a new era of history. There was only one problem. The population of Iran (then known as Persia) was also expecting the return of a prophet.

"The premise of a modern-day prophet seems preposterous and even perverse," Keene chuckled. "In view of current conflicts, who would have thought that Moslems and Christians would be expecting a prophet at the same time?" It's the ultimate triangle: two antagonistic groups share one prophet.

So what happens when the boy next door says he is a prophet and the country is Iran? The Bab instantly becomes an object of intense fascination to Christian observers and is branded as a heretic by the corrupt Islamic empire of Persia, then the size of Europe. We can hardly catch our breath as the Bab escapes death time and again, is imprisoned in a remote mountain fortress and finally triumphs in what is billed as "the most astounding execution sequence ever filmed."

We see unexpected and uncontrollable events unfold through the eyes of key players in this historical epic. Husayn leads a small band of starving Babis -- "a handful of students and old men" -- to hold off an army of 15,000. They remain undefeated after six months (how long did they last at "The Alamo?"). There is the beautiful Babi poetess, Tahirih, who is offered 12,000 men to march on the capital at Tehran and who enjoys even today a world-wide reputation as an early woman's rights activist (and martyr) under the worst of circumstances.

The rat-faced Persian Prime Minister is so pathetic it is almost comic. His plots to kill the Bab cannot get the job done as hundreds of thousands embrace the Bab's revolutionary vision for a new world. While the hysteria builds, American missionary Austin Wright is mystified by the fearless Babis, as he clings to the hope that Christ will descend on a cloud.

And, of course, the British and Russians were jockeying for position in Iran then, as the Americans and Soviets are now. But the Babis stay one step ahead of what anybody can imagine. The Russians fear upheaval as the Babis spread into their territory. At one point, the British envoy, Maj. Justin Sheil, sums up the spectacle, "It defies all rational expectation."

"The Dawn-Breakers" -- the right movie at the right time -- is a true story you can take home and chew on. "It dawned on us that we may have a hit," Keene said, "when a Hollywood producer told us that this story was 'too hot to handle.'"