Review of Journey to Mecca (2009) by Muhammad A — 13 Jun 2010

Since its inception, the IMAX format has come to be dominated by plant, aquatic or prehistoric lifeforms (or, in recent years, by blockbuster product looking to maximise its revenue streams), so it's encouraging to see a release that - while not short on stunning landscapes and ultra-widescreen spectacle - has a strongish human interest strand.

.. It's in the scale of the enterprise where "Journey to Mecca" best matches form to content: in the helicopter shot over an endless line of pilgrims traversing the dunes, or the simpler framing of Battuta sitting alone in front of the new moon (upon which a crater would later be named for him), we're asked to ponder how these props and sets were created: not by production designers or computer techies, but God or Allah or Yahwee or a freak cosmic occurrence, or whatever else it is you may have cause to marvel at.

Fun to see an American production attempting to engage with an Islamic storytelling tradition in the way, say, Cecil B. DeMille once did with Christianity, and if "Journey to Mecca" finally errs on the side of reverence - you really ought remove your shoes upon entering the cinema - two or three sequences of astonishing natural beauty more than compensate.