'The stoning of Soraya m.' - Movie Review Example

Affiliation Movie Review: Stoning of Soraya The The film stoning of soraya M. is from the book, The stoning of Soraya M.Written by Freidoun Sahebjam, an accomplished journalist who has reported of injustice and abuse of women all over the world, the book is so deeply compelling and emotive. The fictional characters depict a true story and the release of this film caused a great stir. In Iran, the movie was banded by the government and several people saw it as a direct affront to the Islamic law.

Although stoning has been long forgotten and is prohibited in modern Muslim communities, the village authorities have too much power and so they can do as they please (Sahebjam, 1994). The stoning of Soraya tells a true story about victims of stoning in modern Iran. The story is deeply moving, and if one watches this film, he will never forget Soraya. The main protagonist is a journalist who gets lost in the small village when his car stalls. He is approached by a woman called Zahra who narrates with great sorrow the stoning of her niece, Soraya, the previous day.

In the movie, a lot of positive changes can be seen as regarding the general Hollywood theme of damsel in distress, who gets rescued. The end of the movie is bittersweet. In the end, Soraya still gets stoned and dies a bloody death. However, women are strongly portrayed as being very strong in this film. This is demonstrated by the zeal with which Soraya’s aunt, Zahra, fights the local authorities and other opposing forces to ensure that the story of her nieces stoning is told to the rest of the world.

She is also very daring and this is illustrated when she slaps the village chief. The good thing about this kind of portrayal is that it changes people’s perception about Muslim women. While most films always portray them as weak and voiceless, this film shows their strength and endurance. Courage Soraya shows great courage even in the face of great injustice. She does not scream out that she is innocent because she knows it is a futile thing to do. Instead, she calmly addresses the crowd and then takes what comes with dignity.

Her aunt also shows great strength because of the things she endures to ensure her niece gets justice. Not only does she have to face death threats several times, she hides the original tape of the happenings and ensures the journalist gets it in the end. Male dominance This movie portrays a society in which the men use religion to peddle lies and to oppress women. In most instances, people have termed Islam as a bad religion because of such practices. Not so with the stoning of soraya. This movie clearly differentiates between being evil and being religious.

The male antagonist is not evil because of his religion. He is just an evil person. His use of religion to gain his selfish ends is disgusting and at the most barbaric. Soraya’s father is also portrayed as sexist. One would expect unconditional support from their parents but soraya is disowned by her own father. He is the first to throw stones which interestingly miss the target repeatedly. The widower also declines to throw a stone at soraya but he does not tell the truth even when he knows that a great injustice is being committed.

It is also very sad to see the way the men in the movie treat women. Women are beaten for then smallest mistakes and they have no one to defend them. There is a great indication that women are less valued in this community and get treated as citizens of the second class. It is sad how soraya is disowned even by her own sons who she gave birth to. The mullah first proposes that soraya be his lover in order for him to protect her and provide or her children. When she refuses this they plan to kill her because she has become an inconvenient wife who cannot be gotten rid of.

This is very sad because human life is sacred and so nobody should have a right to just take it away for their selfish gains. Selfishness Not only did Ali want to get a new wife for himself, he also wanted to escape the burden of bringing up his children. His selfishness goes to the extreme measures of having his wife stoned by claiming that she committed adultery. He also uses a lot of coercion and blackmail to ensure his plans go well and in the end he succeeds in killing soraya. Soraya’s sons are also seen to side with their father and in the end they end up alone.

Compelling This film is very compelling. It’s set up and themes are only comparable to those of films like the passion of Christ. Not only does one feel bad for Soraya, but also for all the women who are oppressed like her. Her great misfortune is a lesson to people all over the world to value and respect women. This is no ordinary story as is bringing to the forefront long hidden and covered barbaric practices of a society in the name of religion. There is proof that this film was banned by the fundamentalist government in Iran.

Whatever the excuse for its banning, it is a clear indication that in the community people are still reluctant to talk about contentious issues like the women oppression and abuse of religion to achieve personal gain.Works CitedSahebjam F., the stoning of soraya M.: A story of injustice in Iran, 1994The stoning of Soraya M. a review, retrieved on 18th april,2012 from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2010/05/the-stoning-of-soraya-m-a-review/