Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(December 2007) Writer and director: Stephen Roloff and Tina Petrova
Starring: Tina Petrova, Kabir Helminski, Coleman Barks, Andrew Harvey, Nader Khalili, Mehrdad Shoghi In-a-nutshell:
As Tibetan Buddhist director Tina Petrova explains it, in answering a plea she made to the Virgin Mary a year after hitting black ice and sliding off a cliff in the desert, the Virgin answered her with the mesmerizing music of a 13th-century Sufi, Rumi, whose poetry she'd heard at a conference years earlier. Delving further into the realm of Rumi and into the arms of others who similarly regard the poet as a "Muslim Saint," Petrova's documentary Rumi - Turning Ecstatic is both the sharing of a study of Rumi, himself, and a record of the pilgrimage she undertakes toward an inner serenity by traveling into a non-denominational community in the Mojave Desert and, subsequently, into coastal California's own converted. Cut with poetry and a pretty calligraphy, and occasionally interrupted by some less than stellar muzak, Rumi's words are remarked to regard the differences between religions as illusions and vanity. The words preach love. And, while it is noted that the balance of the world at present is particularly tenuous and needs Rumi's teachings of tolerance now more than ever, the parallels to Rumi's life in Turkey, where his world - threatened by Genghis Khan to the West and the European Crusaders to the East, and considered to be similarly at the precipice of an apocalypse - are never quite elucidated or examined. At times, this feels like a film loosely about Rumi made for people who already know Rumi. Much is said of his "word," but his words themselves are barely used by the filmmakers. In this reviewer's humble opinion, Rumi's ruminations would have been better served by addressing and advertising his writings in particular and, secondarily, by conducting conversations with some who inhabit the world from which he came, whether they be scholars, literary minds, or spiritual advisors of merit (across religious disciplines). In fact, at only 46 minutes in length, the doc would have been well served by the inclusion of some of the special features stored on the DVD: poetry, artwork, even a lesson plan for the teaching of Rumi's tenets. Although Rumi is referred to often by those in the documentary as the most popular poet in America and as someone who has outsold Shakespeare for the last decade, the marketing of the movie revolves not around those "facts" but around the picture of a whirling dervish. The presence of dervishes in the documentary is fleeting at best, and there are no comparative learnings that serve to explain how these Muslims have managed to mandate peace amidst the pervasive proclamations of Islamic hatred which dominate the current political landscape. That said, this introduction to the Californication of Rumi's principles serves an important purpose: to write a series of questions for which the viewer will seek answers by looking to the source, with the source handily present by clicking through to the DVD's menu. For screening times of Rumi - Turning Ecstatic, go to http://www.rumi-turningecstatic.com/screenings.html. DVDs are also now available. |
