A Review of the Movie Sabah - Essay Example

A Review of the Movie Sabah As it is known, the theme of religion is one of the most popular themes forthe film industry, and it is not surprising. Indeed, the topic of religion is rather important for millions of people worldwide. For them, religion is the ability to find meaning in life, their inner psychological peace, as well as an opportunity to get closer to other people. On the other hand, religion is also presented by various religious rites and traditions that should be followed by believers. These religious rites and traditions have a significant impact not only on individual areas of human life, but also on human life in general. In this respect, Islam occupies one of the leading places because its religious traditions literally pervade human life in all its manifestations. In particular, one can verify this after watching the movie Sabah directed by Ruba Nadda. The movie offers the viewer an excellent opportunity to see how traditional Islam has an impact on various aspects of Muslim life, including issues relating to family, romantic relationships, as well as professional and career growth and development of men and women in Islamic culture. The main theme of the movie can be defined as the freedom of human choice that is most clearly illustrated by the director by the example of the love relationship between the main heroes. To begin with, the film tells about the life of a Muslim family living in Canada. The family consists of numerous women and a man Majid, who is the brother of the main character by the name of Sabah. Majid is the epitome of a traditional Muslim. After their fathers death, he takes on the responsibility to provide the family with all they need. In contrast to their deceased father, the main religious philosophy of Majid is represented by his desire to strictly follow the customs and norms of traditional Islam. In turn, it has a significant impact on the characteristics of this Arab family. Firstly, as the defender of traditional Islamic values, Majid requires women of complete submission to his authority as the head of the family. The film shows that the foundations of the patriarchal family determine that the women do not have the opportunity to work and earn money. As the head of the patriarchal family, Majid does not allow his women to work, because following the logic of traditional Islam, a woman must first be a good housewife. The subordination of the women in the family is shown by the example of using the family budget. Majid controls the use of money and forbids the women to spend money to buy more clothes and other things that he believes to be unnecessary. Although this behavior is explained by the fact that Majid earns money for the family himself, however, even this small piece of the movie gives the viewer an opportunity to see the features of the family hierarchy according to the canons of traditional Islam. However, this is not the main theme that is presented in the film. The main theme of the movie is the freedom of choice. It manifests itself most clearly in the question of choosing a life partner and features of a romantic relationship with him/her. The main character of the film is Sabah. She is forty years old, and she is not married. According to the religious traditions of Islam, Muslims are not allowed to marry non-Muslims. As well as other women in their family, Sabah should become a faithful wife of a Muslim from a good family. However, the woman is strongly against such a rule because it prevents her to make her own individual choice about her future husband. The main principle of the heroine’s life as well as her young niece Souhaire is the idea that every person has the right to decide with whom he/she wants to share his/her fate. Moreover, the heroine believes that a woman has the right to have an intimate relationship with her lover before their marriage, provided that they love each other and cannot live without each other. By chance, Sabah falls in love with a Canadian who has nothing to do with Islam. As a result, the woman comes into conflict with her brother, who demands to break off the relations with her man, since they violate the religious traditions of Muslims for two main reasons. Firstly, Sabahs lover is not a Muslim. In addition, traditional Islam prohibits sexual relations between lovers before their marriage. The conflict between Sabah and her brother is a conflict between the Western lifestyle and the customs of traditional Islam. The conservative view of life within traditional Islam does not allow Majid to take into account the fact that they do not live in an Arab country, but in Canada, so it makes sense to at least soften or modify the stringent requirements imposed primarily to Islamic women. For me, this film is of particular interest for the reason that it points out the importance of human feelings and freedom of choice. Similar to the main character, I am convinced that every person has the right to choose a life partner, because it affects his/her personal happiness, and no religion has the right to take away the freedom of choice. There is no doubt that religious traditions and customs should be respected by believers since they are the way by which people can show their love and respect for God and thus become closer to him. Believers should seek to comply with religious rules and customs, however, freedom of choice should not be banned regardless of what religion it is about. I believe that each person comes into this world as a free being, capable of realizing his/her right to individual choice in that or any other sphere of life (family, professional, educational, etc.). I am impressed by the fact that the main character of the movie does not sacrifice her principles and expresses her desire to live as a free woman who is able to make an independent choice. This film made me think about the fact that people can change their lives and have a significant impact on their features. Religion even if it is the traditional Islam cannot prohibit the choice of a life partner based on mutual feelings and love. An adult has the right to freedom in all areas of his/her life, especially with regard to the matters of love. To sum up, the movie shows Islam in its practical impact on the lives of Muslims. This influence has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspects of the Islamic religion and its traditions are shown in the fact that as the only man in the family Majid takes responsibility for the whole family and earns money so that none of his family members needed anything. Majid is depicted as a responsible, caring and hard-working Muslim. On the other hand, the religion of Islam is able to have a negative impact on the lives of people by forbidding them to exercise freedom of choice in particular in relation to the choice of a life partner. All the women are obliged to bind their lives only with Muslims and do not have the right to have romantic relationships with non-Muslims. The director of the film focuses her particular attention on the need to recognize the freedom of choice that is also seen as the opportunity to choose one’s husband or wife. Freedom of choice is considered to be the inalienable human right, and even Islam as one of the most conservative religions is not allowed to perform unduly pressure on people and deny their freedom of choice. Work Cited Sabah. Dir. Ruba Nadda. Perf. Arsinée Khanjian, Shawn Doyle, Jeff Seymour, and Kathryn Winslow. Mongrel Media, 2005. Film. Read More