The Stoning of Soraya M

Description

Product Description From a producer of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST comes this chilling true story. Academy Award® nominee Shorheh Aghdashloo stars as Zahra, a woman with a burning secret. When a journalist (Jim Caviezel) is stranded in her remote village, Zahra takes a bold chance to reveal what the villagers will stop at nothing to hide. Thus begins the story of Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), a kind woman whose cruel, divorce- seeking husband trumps up false charges of infidelity against her, which carry an unimaginable penalty. Soraya and Zahra attempt to navigate the villagers’ scheming, lies and deceit to prove her innocence. But when all else fails, Zahra must risk everything to use the only weapon she has left – her voice – to share Soraya's shocking story with the world. desertcart.com In the most powerful motion pictures, the message tends to be embedded so deeply that it isn't always apparent at first glance. In The Stoning of Soraya M., the point of the project--to bring a heinous cultural practice to light--drowns out all other concerns. The film is based on Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s international bestselling non-fiction book of the same title. Sahebjam (played by Jim Caviezel, in a framing device) stumbles across the story in 1986 when his car breaks down in a remote Iranian village and he meets Zahra (House of Sand and Fog's Shohreh Aghdashloo), who begs him to tell the world what happened to her niece, Soraya. After 21 years of marriage, Soraya's abusive husband, Ali, falls in love with a 14-year-old, but Soraya (Mozhan Marnò) resists divorce for fear he'll leave her penniless, so Ali falsely accuses her of infidelity, convinces the town elders to get on board, and the mayor sentences her to death by stoning. Though Cyrus Nowrasteh directs, The Passion of the Christ producer Steven McEveety's guiding hand is keenly felt as a blameless individual must suffer for the sins of others, but the film would generate more sympathy and outrage if the characters registered as vividly as the message (see Silkwood for a superior example of character-based outrage). The actors, including Caviezel--affecting a passable accent--invest their mono-dimensional roles with conviction, but this literary adaptation would've worked better as a documentary that examines the history of honor killings, including the legal and political repercussions. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Review: Islam As Practiced in Most of the World - Excellent movie. If you enjoyed it, you'd also enjoy the Muslim-produced DVD called "The Third Jihad," also available from desertcart and also five stars. Here's a review of that video: 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars The Myth of "Moderate" Islam, May 25, 2011 desertcart Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America (DVD) This is an outstanding DVD, made by a Muslim, and packed with hard evidence: videos of Islamic leaders proclaiming their goal of destroying Western culture, not through imminent terrorism, but rather through deception and infiltration--a long-term goal to conquer the entire world and make all countries Islamic theocratic states subject to the law of Sharia. The DVD exposes how purportedly "moderate" Islamic leaders in the United States and elsewhere are anything but. Many are caught on tape advocating terrorism and the ultimate goal of global Islamic rule. Many of the main purportedly "moderate" Islamic leaders in the United States have been convicted on terrorism charges. The extreme repressiveness of Saudi Arabia, America's purported ally, is exposed, as is their massive exportation of extremist Wahhabist teachings through establishment of so-called "madrassahs" throughout the mideast, Asia and yes, the United States and Europe. The Wahhabist sect is one of the most extreme and violent of Islamic sects. The madrassahs established by the Saudis teach intolerance, hatred of the west and violent terrorist tactics to children throughout the world, starting from very early ages. They have created the Islamic extremists, terrorists, and suicide bombers of today, and tomorrow. Despite all phony denials--as expressly admitted in this DVD by many of the major Islamic leaders in the U.S.--the ultimate goal of Islam is total global conquest. The current violent terrorist acts and wars are merely feints designed--quite successfully--to keep attention away from the real jihadist movement, which is to infiltrate and destroy western democracies from within. For various reasons--extending from oil profits for corporations to "political correctness"--the United States and most of Europe (the Netherlands being an exception)--have propagated the myth that Islamic extremists are simply a tiny fringe group representing no more than 1-2% of Muslims worldwide. Nothing could be farther from the truth. On the morning of 9/11, news programs showed film of massive crowds pouring into the streets of Palestine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and elsewhere in joyous, ecstatic celebration of the horrible attacks on America and the deaths of so many thousand innocent citizens. Since that time, these videos have been surppressed, because they don't fit with the government's false assurances that the "real" Islam is a peaceful religion and that the terrorists represent only a tiny minority who have allegedly "hijacked" Islam. Polls in many Islamic countries have established that more than half of all Muslims either "supported," "sympathized with" or "admired" Osama Bin Laden. The majority of Islamic sects are not peaceful, or tolerant, or respectful of basic human rights. Among the worst are the Wahhabists who dominate Saudi Arabia and whose goals of terrorism and global conquest have been exported by Saudi Arabia around the world. American authorities stand idly by while these enemies of America send imams into U.S. prisons to brainwash and recruit many African-Americans and others to adopt their teachings of hate. This must stop. Wahhabist principles--including the goal of Islamic global conquest and the morality of killing all non-Muslims--are also taught throughout the United Stated in mosques, Islamic centers and through Islamic groups and websites, many of whom purport to be "moderate" and on the surface lie and disavow such things. I am a far-left Democrat. I voted for Obama, walked precincts for George McGovern, and have never voted for a Republican in my life. This is NOT a partisan issue. This is the most serious threat we have faced since Adolf Hitler and the Japanese in World War II. There is no possibility of avoiding a Third World War of the West versus Islam. The Muslims have made that inevitable. America and Europe need to wake up and stop pretending that Islam is just a peaceful religion with no goal of global conquest. If we keep our heads in the sand much longer, it will be too late. Watch this Muslim-produced DVD. You will be absolutely shocked at what your government has NOT been telling you, and the absolute lies that it has been telling you. Review: "That Is The Law" ~ A Message The World Must Hear - Note: Film presented in Persian with intermittent English. Contains English and Spanish subtitles. Not since `The Passion of the Christ' has an audience been assaulted by such a vivid, realistic vision of ignorance, hatred and unbridled brutality. Produced by the same producer as the aforementioned film, `The Stoning of Soraya M' returns the audience to a Middle East setting, a contemporary one this time (1986 Iran) to share and expose to the world a true tale of female oppression, archaic traditions and misplaced justice. This is definitely not a movie geared towards escapist family entertainment, but a serious, sobering social commentary produced to call our attention to a human rights violation that continues to occur in some parts of the world to this present day. Viewing a modern day stoning of an innocent woman would be difficult enough to endure if this was fictitious story, but knowing it's a re-enactment of an actual event is absolutely devastating. Knowing the subject matter of the film beforehand one obviously must approach it with a goal far more meaningful than a reprise from reality or the pursuit of entertainment. This is reality in its most stark, unvarnished manifestation and much like `The Passion of the Christ' the violence is captured in such a visceral, intense manner you will find it difficult if not impossible to keep your eyes focused on the screen. In other words your reason for viewing this film is to learn something and to elicit a personal response to a human rights issue that needs to be aggressively addressed. If those two goals are attained then the film has succeeded and the message received. Having said all that I don't mean to discount cinematic or artistic merits of this film, it's just that the message is so important that everything else simply pales in comparison. This is a quality film in every way; beautiful camera work, exotic soundtrack and brilliant acting. `The Stoning of Soraya M' is understandably something you won't want to watch over and over again but it demands at least one viewing from any thinking adult willing to put aside the simple pleasures of mindless entertainment for at least one evening to experience an immensely important film with a message that the world needs to hear.