Journey to Mecca Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Journey to Mecca Blu-ray Movie Review

The Muslim Marco Polo gets the IMAX treatment.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 13, 2011

Just about everyone can recount at least some aspect of the “tales of Marco Polo,” whether those tales be culled from Hollywood hokum like the Gary Cooper film, or the actual historical record. But far fewer people have ever heard of Ibn Battuta, the “Muslim Marco Polo,” whose 14th century travels spanned a far greater expanse than Marco Polo himself ever traversed. While this relatively anonymity might be expected from Westerners, it may come as a surprise that even ardent followers of Islam may be less than well acquainted with the life and adventures of Battuta, despite the account of Battuta’s journeys, Rihla, being one of the glories of Muslim literature. Journey to Mecca is a fascinating and illuminating National Geographic feature originally released as an IMAX production, now migrating itself to Blu-ray. The film artfully blends a nicely detailed historical recreation of Battuta’s Hajj (religious pilgrimage to Mecca) with modern day footage, including the only time a film crew of this size has been allowed inside the Grand Mosque of Mecca to witness contemporary worshipers in some of Islam’s most holy (and heretofore secret) traditions. Though this relatively short IMAX feature might seem on its face to be too brief to explore much of anything, Journey to Mecca is, perhaps surprisingly, an “epic” of sorts, with some of the most gorgeous, albeit barren at times, scenery in recent memory, and a compelling story of a young man urged forward by an inner spiritual voice to visit the root location of his religion. The fact that Journey to Mecca comes in a post-9/11 world which includes a fair amount of paranoia and outright hatred of Islam by Westerners is one of the film’s greatest contributions, and one which was paramount in the filmmakers’ own consciousness. As a scholar mentions in one of the many excellent extras supplementing the main IMAX feature, Battuta’s forays into various cultures and nationalities (not to mention religions) stand as a sterling example of co-existence, tolerance and ecumenicalism.

Journey to Mecca recounts the thousands of miles Ibn Battuta (Chems Eddine Zounin) traveled in order to get from his home in Tangier to his ultimate destination in Mecca. The Hajj was not just a religious pilgrimage per se for travelers back then, it was almost a farewell to their accustomed modes of living, and in fact many of these pilgrims fully expected not to survive their epic treks. That gave the whole enterprise a sort of desperately liberating feeling, as those undertaking the Hajj routinely paid off all debts, made peace with their enemies, and tried to generally set things right in their lives before embarking.

Culled from Battuta’s own beloved writings, Journey to Mecca brings this truly epic undertaking fully to life, with a series of thrilling location shots that show Battuta stumbling through deserts, descending on war ravaged ports, and encountering a set of vagabond thieves, one of whom turns out to be his greatest protector. The absolute lunacy of attempting to make this trip alone is explored, as a number of Battuta’s decision, some of them made with a fair amount of hubris, turn out to have unexpected and potentially devastating effects.

The Hajj itself may be a totally foreign concept to many, if not most, Westerners, but it’s to Journey to Mecca’s credit that the underlying spiritual urge which informs Battuta’s quest is one that is made universal and understandable. This brilliantly evocative piece manages to both bring history alive as well as make a longstanding tradition’s current practices equally fascinating. Those who have harbored fear and suspicion of Muslims, rightly or wrongly, since the horrendous events of September 11, 2001, may well have a completely different take on Islam after having watched Journey to Mecca, and that may in fact be this film’s greatest accomplishment.

Journey to Mecca Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wow. That about sums up Journey to Mecca's astoundingly beautiful image, delivered on Blu-ray via an AVC encode in 1080p and 1.78:1. This is some of the most crystal clear imagery in recent memory, stunning aerial shots of deserts, seas and modern day Mecca that take the breath away at virtually every turn. Colors are brilliantly saturated and absolutely lifelike. Fine detail bristles in every shot. Depth of field is at times literally beyond belief. Some recent IMAX transfers to Blu-ray haven't had quite the visual "oomph" some have expected, but Journey to Mecca is a notable exception, and it completely and indisputably delivers the visual goods. Big time. This is simply one of the nicest looking Blu-rays I've had the pleasure to view so far this year.

Journey to Mecca Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the bulk of Journey to Mecca consists either of Ben Kingsley's bookending narration, or the voiceover of the actor portraying Ibn Battuta, the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix comes surprisingly alive, courtesy of well placed environmental effects and an incredibly evocative underscore. It's the music that most people are probably going to remember from this soundtrack, a shimmering array of vocals and percussion set above scintillating drones. But some of the environmental effects are incredibly immersive, including a very impressive sandstorm that gives Hidalgo a run for its money. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is superb throughout this offering.

Journey to Mecca Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Roads to Mecca (1080i; 1:00:08) This absolutely fascinating documentary confronts head on the question that may be lingering in many viewers' minds as they watch Journey to Mecca, namely: what about 9/11? It becomes clear, as the film interviews a number of people involved in Journey's own journey to the screen, that an "answer" so to speak to the horrors of that day needed to be formulated by those who love Islam and themselves feel its reputation was hideously sullied by a small group of radical terrorists. Among those interviewed are Daisy Kahn, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement and Bruce Niebaur, writer and director of Journey to Mecca. This documentary recounts the travails of the filmmakers, who arrived in Saudi Arabia in Summer 2005, only 18 months after another series of devastating Al Qaeda attacks, and recounts the problems, some physical, some cultural, they encountered as they attempted to get Journey to Mecca filmed. This documentary is in its own way just as riveting and insightful as Journey to Mecca itself.
• Interviews (1080i; 11:59) A nice assortment of scholars and two of the actors involved in Journey to Mecca are interviewed. Aspects of research as well as the actual filmmaking are covered. The interview subjects are:
  Dr. Abdelhadi Tazi, Scholar and Ambassador, Kingdom of Morocco
  HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal, Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  H.E. Faisal al Muaammar, Supervisor General, King Abdulaziz Public Library, Deputy Minister of Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  Actor Nadim Sawalha (Ibn Muzzafar)
  Actor Hassam Ghancy (Highwayman)
• Behind the Scenes Making Of (1080i; 13:29) This short featurette has a lot of very interesting background material, including interviews with Producers Taran Davies and Dominic Cunnigham-Reid. The sheer logistical difficulties of filming in a country with no film industry are addressed, but there's also some attention given to the outright fear some potential funders had about this project in the wake of worldwide terrorism in the name of Islam.
• Blu-ray Extras (1080i; 16:37) This featurette is broken into several small segments which address such subjects as research, assembling the largest animal caravan ever filmed, recording the score, and a brief tribute to Chems Eddine Zinoun, the actor who portrays Ibn Battuta and who passed away at a very young age in 2008.

Journey to Mecca Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Many people who didn't really know all that much about Islam had an understandably visceral and largely negative reaction to the religion after the momentous events of September 11, 2001. Both of the documentaries on this excellent Blu-ray hope to help ameliorate the misunderstandings and misconceptions which have sprung up in the post-9/11 world. Journey to Mecca is a brief but beautiful piece that works as both a travelogue as well as a personal quest for individual salvation. Just as impressive is Roads to Mecca, which confronts the post-9/11 universe head on and attempts to find a modicum of healing. This Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing and comes Highly recommended.