L'aube du monde (2008) User Reviews

A poignant Iraqi elegy

[yong-ho · 2 November 2008]

Watched this movie a few weeks ago at the 13th Pusan Internationl Film Festival. It is one of the most impressive depictions of war I've ever seen, a dark and grim tale about the effects of war in Iraq even on those not fighting. Supported with passionate music and photography, this film is a kind of Iraqi elegy, with some truly haunting and heart wrenching scenes. Rather unique as a war film (or rather quite the anti-war film), this is not an action movie, nor is this a romanticisation of war or patriotism. When there is war action it's shot in unconventional ways and Fahdel (the director) gets his message across without any long speeches. Many of the effects are conveyed indirectly, but so effectively that some scenes compete in intensity to a film like Apocalypse Now.

Highly recommended. 10/10

One of the the most indelible anti-war film ever created

[sermini · 10/10 · 9 March 2009]

Focusing on the human tragedy and suffering caused by war, L'Aube du monde (Dawn of the World) is a highly nuanced film, without heroes or superheros, but just a poor people trying to stay alive in a world of horror. The screenplay is full of interesting ideas, and most of the scenes exhibit a rare poetical sensibility. Almost all of the violence and atrocities are off screen. This unusual technique (in a time where most films rub your nose in graphic and excessive violence) is very interesting because it allows the film to make its point without having to depict what it is actually condemning. Abbas Fahdel (the writer/director) does also a good job keeping the film focused on few characters instead of getting into too many complicated stories with minor characters. A film like this would likely be over two hours if made by others directors, as Hollywood would likely turn the story into an overblown action movie. Conclusion: this subtle and powerful film is a must see for everyone.

An aquatic poem that leaves a lasting impression in the mind

[stalkerjo · 10/10 · 24 October 2009]

Dostoivski had predicted: "Beauty will save the world !" Writer-director Abbas Fahdel must share the same hope. His "Dawn of the World" is full of beauty… beauty that stands next to horror. Quite original, the film evolves in a special temporality (made of long shots that give the film its particular rhythm) and in a redesigned space stretched between two extremes: that of the infinitely large (the desert, the swamps) and that of the infinitely small (the houses of reeds). Fadhel films the natural environment in the manner of Tarkovsky, plays on the contrast between land and water, between city and nature, and guide us to the heart of a devastated "Zone", formerly known as the ancient biblical Garden of Eden. Unforgettable !

A visual and haunting poem

[ozunaruse · 10/10 · 24 December 2009]

DAWN OF THE WORLD is a visual poem, a tragic tale that takes place in a haunting, almost mythic landscape. The simplicity of the story and the beauty of the images almost make the story seem a misty dream. Brought in pictures of utter elegance, extreme subtlety, it highlights, despite a backdrop of war and death, the noble side of human being: compassion and mercy to the weak, maintenance of integrity amid suffering… although it would not be misleading to place it in the company of the films of Mizoguchi and Satyajit Ray. It has the same generosity , the same kind of compassionate humanism, expressed with equal sensitivity and poetry. I hope one day it will be as well known as it deserves to be.

The tragedy of the Marsh Arabs

[Kassem1 · 28 January 2013]

A robust art film directed with an unquestionable talent, Dawn of the World is a journey through the unexplored Marshlands of Iraq and a moving war film about the tragedy of the Marsh Arabs (everybody knows about the Golf War, but nobody knows about the massacre of the Marsh Arabs!) The story is harrowing and the presentation is graphic. Powerful material, powerfully rendered. The director alternates the horrors of war with occasional fairy tale-like images; together they imbue the film with an unapologetically disturbing quality that persists long after the credits roll. One must not describe the sequence at the end. It must unfold as a surprise. It is unutterably depressing, because history can never undo itself, and is with us forever.

Paradise lost

[robresson · 10/10 · 25 September 2009]

L'AUBE DU MONDE ("Dawn of the World") is a simple yet effective tale of the devastation war has on people, both physically and emotionally. The director and writer Abbas Fahdel has succeeds in conveying the ravages of war with almost no recourse to violence. The omnipresence of war is visible through mutilated bodies, half-buried corpses and the wrecked body of a missile in the still marsh waters. The comings and goings of the soldiers (Iraqis, Iranians and Americans) strongly evokes an ambiance of war in a zone where the belligerents ceaselessly change. But the result is always the same: it's the civilians who pay the highest price.

All in all, I'd say this is a solid effort of an art film, and a brooding meditation on the human condition.

A post-apocalyptic love story that may suggest The Odyssey

[mguchi · 10/10 · 31 March 2011]

There are many films that deal with the war in Iraq, but "Dawn of the World" is probably the most beautiful and less manichean. Playing cleverly on the contrast between the background (the atrocity of the war) and form (sense of beauty), this post-apocalyptic love story remains quite original. Served by a beautiful photography and a stunning music, it looks like an aquatic poem and may suggest "The Odyssey", the pitfalls and the time it takes to regain his homeland after the war, from the perspective of those (women) who wait - Hafsia Herzi and Hiam Abbass are simply sublimes. The film is also a sensitive work full of poetry, which combines visual splendor and emotion and in which every detail make sense. It still works as well in the second vision, and the emotion remains intact. A true gem to discover urgently.

Heart of Darkness

[Youssefa · 13 February 2013]

When it is not biased or superfluous, when it is applied without cheating or posture, the cinematic language proves that movie art is more than necessary : It is essential. Perfectly mastered, Dawn of the World impresses especially by the staggering beauty of the landscape (a kind of original beauty), by the dignity of the gaze on a community scorned and ignored. The film renew our faith in film art and in humanity. interesting thing to note: Dawn of the World seems to have its roots in Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, a fascinating story of a boat trip down the Congo River to find a man who had gone native, living amongst the indigenous Africans. In Dawn of the World, the river is the Euphrates and the indigenous people are the Maadaans, the Marsh Arabs.