The Gardener

The Gardener The Baha’i faith is explored by Iranian father-son filmmakers Mohsen and Maysam Makhmalbaf

BUSAN — The Gardener marks the first time in decades — perhaps since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 — that an Iranian filmmaker has shot a movie in Israel, and what it has to say about religion and world peace is as radical a statement as unconventional filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf (The Bicyclist, Kandahar) has ever made. Filmed amid the extravagant colors of nature at the Baha’i world headquarters in Haifa, Mohsen and his cameraman-son Maysam Makhmalbaf amicably debate the role of religion in life and war in an engaging, good-humored introduction to the Baha’i Faith. The deep spirituality it discusses so intelligently will appeal to open-minded viewers and should reach beyond festivals via culture channels.

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