Gabbeh
1996, R, 73 min.
Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Shaghayegh Djodat, Hossein Moharami, Roghieh Moharami.

Not reviewed at press time. This Iranian film is a poetic fable about the remote and nomadic Ghashghai tribe whose members weave carpets called gabbeh, which have intricate patterns that serve as a record of their history and family stories. Makhmalbah is a political and often controversial filmmaker, but Gabbeh finds him in a more fanciful and contemplative mood. The film was originally intended to be an anthropologically inclined documentary but the subject matter began to take on a life and story of its own as the mystical power of art and the grandeur of nature worked their magic.

This article appears in October 24 • 1997 (Cover).

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.