Hussein Who Said No (film)

Rastakhiz
Directed by	Ahmad Reza Darvish
Produced by	Taghi Aligholizadeh
Written by	Ahmad Reza Darvish
Starring	Arash Asefi, Hasan Pourshirazi, Farhad Ghaemian, Babak Hamidian, Behnam Tashakkur, Anoushirvan Arjmand, Mir Taher Mazloumi, Pouria Poursorkh, Mahtab Keramati, Parviz Pourhosseini, Shaghayegh Farahani, Zohreh Hamidi, Soroush Goudarzi, Seyyed Javad Yahyavi, Leila Bolukat.
Music by	Stephen Warbeck
Cinematography	Husayn Ja'farian, Alireza Barazandeh
Editing by	Tariq Anwar
Running time	160 min
Country	Iran
Language	Persian

Rastākhīz (Persian: رستاخیز, Resurrection) or Hussein Who Said No (Persian: حسین، آنکه گفت نه) is an Iranian historical religious movie focusing on the events of the movement of Imam al-Husayn (a). Ahmad Reza Darvish, the director and writer of the movie, finished the production of this cinematic work in 1391 Sh/2012.

Rastakhiz tells the story of the Event of Karbala centering on Bukayr, the son of al-Hurr b. Yazid al-Riyahi. It addresses the uprising of Sayyid al-Shuhada (a), the caliphate of Yazid b. Mu'awiya, the rise of Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad to power in Kufa, and the historical sub-events of that era.

The movie, which won 8 Crystal Simorghs at the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival, faced problems and criticisms during its public screening. Some Marja's (religious authorities) and religious figures strongly criticized the movie and its content, deeming it inconsistent with historical realities. The depiction of the faces of Ahl al-Bayt (a), especially al-Abbas (a), was the main cause of objection and opposition by some Marja's such as Husayn Wahid Khurasani and Nasir Makarim Shirazi. Extensive protests led to the movie being removed from Iranian cinema screens shortly after its first public screening.

Winning the Best Film and Best Director awards at the Fajr Film Festival and the Best Film award at the Baghdad International Film Festival in 2015 are among the honors of Rastakhiz.

Synopsis

The story of the movie deals with the events after the death of Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan and begins with the flow of the letter sent by Yazid b. Mu'awiya, his successor, to the governor of Medina to take the pledge of allegiance from Imam al-Husayn (a).

Bukayr b. al-Hurr, a passionate and truth-seeking youth, is the special messenger assigned to deliver the letter, and in Medina, he becomes aware of the letter's content, which orders the killing of Imam al-Husayn (a). He sees the Imam (a) in Mecca and becomes acquainted with his thoughts and ideas.

The correspondence of the people of Kufa and their invitation to the third Shi'a Imam, followed by the Events of Muharram in 61/680 and the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a) and his companions, are among the subjects depicted in this cinematic work. Bukayr b. al-Hurr, the bearer of Yazid's letter to Medina, is present in this incident along with his father, al-Hurr b. Yazid al-Riyahi, and they are the first to confront the Imam's caravan; however, after some events and on the Day of Ashura, Bukayr and his father realize the righteousness of al-Husayn (a) and join the Imam's army.

Cast and Crew

The technical crew and some actors of the movie are as follows:

Darvish (center) directing the actors

• Writer and Director: Ahmad Reza Darvish
• Producer: Taghi Aligholizadeh
• Director of Photography: Husayn Ja'farian
• Production and Costume Designer: Majid Mirfakhra'i
• Makeup Artist: Mir Muhsin Musavi Madani
• Music: Stephen Warbeck
• Cinematographer: Alireza Barazandeh

Cast:

A scene of the noon of Ashura in the movie

• Arash Asefi as Bukayr b. al-Hurr
• Hasan Pourshirazi as Umar b. Sa'd
• Farhad Ghaemian as al-Hurr b. Yazid al-Riyahi
• Babak Hamidian as Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad and Yazid b. Mu'awiya
• Behnam Tashakkur as Hasin b. Tamim
• Anoushirvan Arjmand as Qadi Shurayh
• Mir Taher Mazloumi as Walid b. Uqba

Pouria Poursorkh, Mahtab Keramati, Parviz Pourhosseini, Shaghayegh Farahani, Zohreh Hamidi, Soroush Goudarzi, Seyyed Javad Yahyavi, and Leila Bolukat are some other actors in the movie.

Production

A scene from the movie; Imam al-Husayn (a) in the circle of companions

Filming of this movie began on February 5, 2010, coinciding with Arba'in of al-Husayn (a), in Bam county. After more than 250 filming sessions in cities and regions such as Bam, Shahdad Kaluts in Kerman, Shahrud, Isfahan, Kashan, Fuman, Parand city in Tehran, and the Sacred Defense Cinema City, it concluded on September 5, 2011. This movie has been prepared for screening in three languages and with three different names. All post-production technical stages were carried out under a contract with the British company "Molinare" and were completed over a year and a half in a studio in London under the supervision of Ahmad Reza Darvish.

Margins and Criticisms

Protest gathering against the screening of Rastakhiz in front of the Ministry of Guidance

Private Screening: Rastakhiz had a private screening on December 23, 2013 attended by some government members and their families, with a speech by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance. During this event, Jannati, the then Minister of Guidance, introduced the movie as an outstanding work endorsed by many prominent figures and some Marja's and scholars, promising cooperation for the movie's international screening.

Screening at Fajr Festival and Beginning of Protests: The movie was officially screened on February 5, 2014 at the 32nd Fajr Film Festival. After succeeding in winning 8 awards, it faced a wave of criticisms and objections. These criticisms were mostly due to the depiction of the faces of Ahl al-Bayt (a), particularly al-Abbas (a) and Ali al-Akbar (a). Some Marja's expressed their opposition and criticism to this work by issuing statements or writing letters to the Cinema Deputy of the Ministry of Guidance; to the extent that Nasir Makarim Shirazi wrote in a letter to Hujjat Allah Ayubi, the head of the Cinema Organization: "Is it intended that the Cinema Organization breaks the sanctity of the sanctities and crosses the red lines?!". The office of Husayn Wahid Khurasani also announced that watching this movie is not permissible for his followers (Muqallids).

Amidst these controversies, the makers of the movie "Rastakhiz" claimed that they had depicted the faces of Ahl al-Bayt (a) after consulting with religious figures and Marja's of the Shi'a such as Sayyid Ali al-Sistani; however, the office of Sayyid Ali al-Sistani denied this claim.

Suspension of Screening: Following these protests, the public screening of the movie faced many uncertainties. After much struggle and conflicting statements by the country's cinema officials and the creators of the work, Rastakhiz was released on the morning of July 15, 2015; however, on the afternoon of the same day, the screening was stopped, and the Ministry of Guidance issued a statement announcing that the screening of the cinematic movie "Rastakhiz" would be postponed until the opinion of some Marja's was satisfied.

Subsequently, Ayubi, the head of the Cinema Organization, announced in an interview regarding the screening of Rastakhiz: "Some were against showing the faces and asked us not to show the face of Hadrat Abu l-Fadl [al-Abbas] at all, and I say definitively that this government is not willing to stand against the Ulama in this regard."

Screening Abroad: Rastakhiz was also screened in some other Shi'a countries such as Iraq and in the city of Najaf and at the al-Ghadir Festival, where it was welcomed by the audience, and these screenings were free of any margins.

See Also

• The Day of the Incident (movie)