CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Animenter There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Jackson Booth-Millard This film was selected as the Iranian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, but was not nominated, but I found out about it because it featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. A "gabbeh" is a type of Persian rug, usually crafted by women, and much thicker and coarser than other carpets. An elderly couple (Hossein Moharami and Rogheih Moharami) carry their gabbeh to the river wanting to wash it. When the rug is spread on the ground, referred to as Gabbeh (Shaghayeh Djodat), magically comes out of it. Gabbeh belongs to the clan whose history is depicted in the design of the carpet, and it follows her story, including her Uncle (Abbas Sayah) who is hoping to find a bride, and she is longing herself to find a young man she hopes to marry. Throughout it also sees the nomads crafting of the carpets, from shearing the sheep, the spinning and dyeing of wool, and the making of gabbehs. There is not much story as such, it is more about seeing country traditions, apparently this film was banned by Iran for being "subversive", I just remember it because of the colourful clothing of the people, the making of the Persian rugs, and the landscapes, so this is enough to make it a watchable fantasy documentary drama. Good!

Emilyjkwin Gabbeh is proof that expensive and complicated effects like 3D are no match for pure creativity. Even if you don't understand Gabbeh, which I admit, it will probably take a few screenings before it really makes sense sometimes, the visually stunning aspects of the film were enough to keep the attention of me and my peers. This Iranian gem begs the audience to think less literally and to peer into a foreign society. Gabbeh is in love with a man, who is heard as a wolf's cry in the film, yet her father will not let her be with the man. Stunningly enough, even when the uncle closes his eyes to allow her to leave, Gabbeh stays, illustrating her fearful loyalty to her family and to her values. Throughout the movie a rug is made, a beautiful one at that, and certain colors are weaved in for certain things. To further this aspect, a man teaching children shows colors by pulling them directly from the earth. For example, the man reaches to the sky and pulls his hand back which is now blue, yet the man reaches into a field of red poppies and pulls back a handful of them. These are actually believable instances in the film, showing incredible strength in editing. In other aspects of the film, the landscape that the nomads follow is beautiful and intriguing, from rivers to snowy mountains. Throughout the movie there is a juxtaposition of the young couple's forbidden love with that of an old man and his old wife, who mostly complain and cry a lot. At the end of the film we realize that this is Gabbeh and her husband, who eventually end up together. This bit is a tad confusing, but requires perhaps a few more watches, as mentioned. If you stick with Gabbeh, you wont be disappointed, it is something quite different from anything else you will have seen.

wadih_ws Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Iranian sensation known as Gabbeh is a fantastic film that features a mythical young woman who is longing to be married to a certain horseback stranger from another clan. Gabbeh is spoken in their native language of Arabic, with English subtitles to make sure we understand. This is the story of the young woman named Gabbeh, who is played by Shaghayeh Djodat, wants nothing more than to get married to this horseback stranger, but there is one problem with her plan. Her uncle, played by Abbas Sayah, doesn't permit her to do so until he gets married first before her. But out of nowhere this mythical young woman appears when an elderly couple goes through their routine of cleaning their rug, while squabbling gently with each other. The Gabbeh's story is almost like a fairytale other than the actuality encompasses the old woman's real-life struggle with daily life and accomplishing her aspiration of matrimony. The director hides his analysis by the usage of colors, which is dominant throughout the entire movie. The vibrant colors that the women wear in the movie are a foundation of unity for women and give them an opening to express themselves in the patriarchal culture. This love story has a hint into a society that has Westerners, whom we have misconceptions or have stereotypes about. This is the first film I've seen from their region and it is a quite odd, but yet entertaining film. I'm expecting to see more films from this region or from this director. This director did a great job with this film with the use of vibrant colors as well as a great love story as well as what happens in the life of Gabbeh or others that are just like her. Overall this film got my attention.

Jugu Abraham I approached Mohsen Makhmalbaf's "Gabbeh" with high expectations as the film had won a lot of awards at minor film festivals, because Makhmalbaf himself is respected at major film festivals and finally because I am a votary of good Iranian cinema ("Gaav", "Aab, Baad, Khaak", "Devandeh", "Khab e talkh", etc.)."Gabbeh" has all the credentials of an interesting film because of its clever combination of surrealistic and realistic vignettes of Iranian nomads and schools in tents, the rich color of the Iranian rural landscape, and finally the magical world of Persian carpet-making. The film's interesting end provides entertainment in a film that began repeating its visual and aural grammar. "Gabbeh" is not a bad film but somewhere halfway through the film, images of a great master of cinema seemed to be copied… In many ways "Gabbeh" is remarkably close to the works of a genius of cinema Sergei Paradjanov in the Sixties--"Color of Pomegranates" and "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors." For those who have not seen these masterpieces of the late Armenian/Ukranian genius, Makhmalbaf's "Gabbeh" would seem truly unique and groundbreaking. For those fortunate to have seen Paradjanov's works, "Gabbeh" walks along a path well trodden by a little known giant of world cinema. If you loved "Gabbeh", see the works of Paradjanov...But one has to admit Makhmalbaf's actors in "Gabbeh" were well chosen and interesting to watch and the interesting end (not too surprising for intelligent viewers, though) provided above average entertainment for 78 minutes.While this film is a creditable work, it is not the finest example of the Iranian new wave cinema.