''Saint Mary'' (, also ''Maryam al-Muqaddasah'', ''Maryam Moghaddas'', ''Maryam Adhraa'' ''Maryam Al-Muqadasa''; "The Honourable/Blessed Saint Mary") is a 2000

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

by director Shahriar Bahrani, depicting the life of Mary the mother of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, based on the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and Islamic tradition.

Plot

In the year 16 BC, the people of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

are awaiting the birth of the son of Imran. Instead of the much-anticipated "

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

", a girl is born to Imran and Anna. The latter names her Mary, which means "Servant of God". At the age of six, Mary is presented at the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, and remains there under the protection of the priest Zechariah until she turns sixteen. While in seclusion, Mary spends all of her time in labour and prayers, and is harassed by the Jewish priests. She achieves such holiness that the angel

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

appears to her, foretelling that she will bear a holy man. She later gives birth to Jesus.

Production

The film bases the story of the life of Saint Mary and the birth of Jesus – a prophet in Islamic tradition – on classical sources such as Chapter 19 of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

. Along with the character of Saint Mary, this film also featured the righteous character of the Prophet Zakariya, who in Islam was the guardian of Saint Mary. The two-hour-long film was originally in Persian but has been dubbed into English by the Wilayah Network which was recorded in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

by Red Angel Media, and there is also another version with English subtitles. Footage from the film was used heavily in the 19 August 2007

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

ITV documentary '' The Muslim Jesus''.

Cast

* Parviz Poorhosseini * Shabnam Gholikhani * Mohammad Kasebi * Maryam Razavi * Hossein Yari * Jafar Dehghan * Mehdi Faghih * Mohsen Zehtab * Afsaneh Naseri * Roya Teymorian * Shirin Bina * Zahra Saeedi * Kourosh Tahami * Mohammad Poursattar

References

External links

* *
''Saint Mary'' website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary (Film) 1997 films Iranian drama films 1990s Persian-language films Religious epic films Films about Mary, mother of Jesus Portrayals of Jesus in film Films based on the Quran

Plot

Production

Cast

See also

References

External links