Nov 15, 2023
Born of Fire (1987)
"I am told you are seeking the Master."
"You heard?"
"Your flute will guide you, as it once guided your father."
"You know who I am?"
"You are your father's son."
#born of fire#1987#horror imagery#british cinema#horror film#jamil dehlavi#rafiq abdullah#colin towns#peter firth#suzan crowley#stefan kalipha#orla pederson#nabil shaban#jean ainslie#morris perry#peter penry jones#richard bebb#bruce mcgowan#james galway#high concept‚ high risk and somewhat high reward melding of genre sensibilities with art film execution#Dehlavi's film is absolutely beautiful‚ a magical realist examination of faith and music with a building sense of#apocalyptic dread; visually this is perfect‚ an aesthetic triumph which makes the most of its incredible locations and other worldly#settings. Dehlavi as director shows an incredible natural ability to create painterly tableaux and knows exactly how to use the stunning#vistas‚ where to place his actors‚ how to create stunning composition. on the writing side this is a little less polished; the overall plot#is decent mystical horror‚ but the script does suffer from some awkward exposition and some unnatural dialogue‚ particularly that between#Firth and Crowley (both superb here). faring better is Kalipha‚ one of the great unsung character actors of his generation‚ as a mysterious#muezzin who acts as a sort of guide to Firth's christian abroad but whose allegiance is open to interpretation. special mention to Shaban#too‚ who delivers a spellbinding and moving performance without a single line of dialogue. a deeply fascinating work if not entirely#successful; quite why it seems to be such an underseen and neglected part of the brit horror pantheon i don't know‚ because there's few#films of that type and era to rival it for pure originality and sheer visual sumptuousness.
