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Gabbeh

Play trailer Poster for Gabbeh Released Oct 10, 1996 1h 14m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In this Iranian romantic fantasy, an elderly married couple (Hossein Moharami, Roghieh Moharami) head to the river to wash their gabbeh, a traditional Persian carpet with a colorful illustration of a young woman woven into it. Suddenly, the figure in the design (Shaghayegh Djodat) springs miraculously to life, declares herself to be called Gabbeh, and then spins a story about her history, her family and the man she loved but was forbidden to marry.

Critics Reviews

View All (20) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: A Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times A work of shimmering beauty. Rated: 4/5 Feb 14, 2001 Full Review Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic There is hardly a composition in the film that couldn't be extracted and framed. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Makhmalbaf attempts to follow the carpet idea by making his film dreamily romantic and non-realistic. Events seem to leap around in time and space, much like a dream. Jan 13, 2006 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com appropriately slight Rated: 3/5 Sep 29, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: B+ Jun 17, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (52) audience reviews
S R 1001 movies to see before you die. Sadly, much of its art was lost on me. It was still unique, visionary and beautiful. Showing us subtle aspects of Iranian culture. Rented on youtube. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/13/24 Full Review William L Though visually simple, Gabbeh interweaves (pun intended) surrealism and targeted imagery into a cryptic love story. Awash in color and symbolism, writer-director Mohsen Makhmalbaf takes very particular elements of Iranian culture, particularly the craft of rugmaking, and extends them into more universal human territory - the art of storytelling, birth, and general creation. Experimental without being exaggerated or overbearing, the film's brief runtime belies the interesting nature and complexity of the unusual romance that it depicts. If this was banned in Iran for being subversive, I'd hate to see what gets approved in their domestic film industry; all the good stuff seems to get thrown out for going against the cultural grain despite often celebrating many aspects of local life. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/22 Full Review Audience Member Interesting directing POV but it is too Artsy... Was expecting something different Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Now here we see a movie that could be seen as borderline miraculous. Any time somebody makes a movie in Iran that thinly veils any statement about women other than that they should be stoned to death for wearing bright colors, and doesn't end up decapitated themselves, it is noteworthy. But I exaggerate slightly. It's like if Ingmar Bergman took a huge hit of acid and made a movie about rugs. One of the prettiest movies out there with all the color, and enough of a love story to avoid being too far "out there". Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member From an Iranian elderly nomadic couple's carpet (called a Gabbeh) emerges a young woman who tells them the story of her clan. An original look at life and love in the Iranian traditional sense. However it is as poetic and colourful as it is lost in its own preciousness, and the first half of the film is certainly more appealing than the second one, where its structure starts to crumble. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Gabbeh

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this Iranian romantic fantasy, an elderly married couple (Hossein Moharami, Roghieh Moharami) head to the river to wash their gabbeh, a traditional Persian carpet with a colorful illustration of a young woman woven into it. Suddenly, the figure in the design (Shaghayegh Djodat) springs miraculously to life, declares herself to be called Gabbeh, and then spins a story about her history, her family and the man she loved but was forbidden to marry.
Director
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Producer
Khalil Mahmoudi, Khalil Daroudchi
Screenwriter
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Distributor
New Yorker Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 10, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 6, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$474.2K
Runtime
1h 14m
Sound Mix
Stereo
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1), 35mm