Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn (film)

Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn (film)
Poster of the movie Musa Kalimullah
Directed by	Ebrahim Hatamikia
Produced by	Sayyid Mahmoud Razavi
Written by	Farajollah Salahshur and Ebrahim Hatamikia
Starring	Merila Zarei ● Alireza Kamali ● Bahareh Kian Afshar ● Behnam Tashakor ● Farhad Ayesh
Running time	140 minutes
Country	Iran
Language	Persian

Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn (Persian: موسی کلیم‌الله) is a movie about the life of Moses (a) directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia. This film is the cinematic version of the historical series "Prophet Moses (a)", which is intended to narrate the life of Moses (a) in three stages: childhood, middle age, and old age.

The series "Prophet Moses (a)" is considered one of the largest projects of the national media of Iran. It is classified as an "Alpha Special" project of the IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) and has been described as a complex and massive film in terms of location, cast, sets and scenes. The film and series of Moses (a) are produced and broadcast by the order of Sima Film, affiliated with the IRIB. Some film critics have described Musa Kalimullah as the most magnificent historical and religious film of Iranian cinema.

Musa Kalimullah won the most awards at the 43rd Fajr Film Festival by receiving five Crystal Simorgh awards, including the Crystal Simorghs for Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Set Design, Best Makeup and Best Technical Achievement awards. Musa Kalimullah was also nominated for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Teaser of the movie Musa Kalimullah

The series "Prophet Moses (a)" was initially meant to be directed and written by Farajollah Salahshur. However, following Salahshur's demise, the direction was entrusted to Jamal Shourjeh and the production to Ahmad Mir-Alaei. Due to Shourjeh's illness, Ebrahim Hatamikia took over the direction, and Sayyid Mahmoud Razavi assumed the production. Subsequently, Hatamikia rewrote the screenplay.

In the movie Moses (a), Merila Zarei plays the role of Jochebed (mother of Moses (a)), Alireza Kamali plays Imran (father of Moses), Bahareh Kian Afshar plays Asiya (wife of Pharaoh), Behnam Tashakor plays Pharaoh, Farhad Ayesh plays the Pharaoh's soothsayer, and Delsa Mohammadi plays the childhood of Moses (a).

Musa Kalimullah has been criticized by reviewers. It is said that the film focuses excessively on visual effects at the expense of a coherent story and narrative. Additionally, the story is limited to the time of Moses's (a) birth. Another criticism leveled at the film is that the plot and narrative do not provide new information to the audience and merely retell the same narrative found in school textbooks and heard by the public.