Muhammad: The Messenger of God

There have been many films made about Jesus, but only two about Muhammad. Almost 40 years were to pass between Moustapha Akkad's The Message and Majid Majidi's film, the second one ever made about the founder of Islam. This grandiose film portrays Muhammad's youth, before he became a religious leader, and Majidi has worked in close collaboration with historians and archeologists in order to attain historical accuracy. Due to Islam's rules against portraying Muhammad, his face is never seen on screen, but this has not prevented master cinematographer Vittori Storaro (Apocalypse Now) from creating a visually striking film in the classical, epic style. This hotly debated film, which among other things has drawn the ire of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, is Iran's most expensive movie ever, as well as its Oscar pick. (Göteborg Film Festival)