The Sheik and I (2012) User Reviews

One awful review? Gotta set things straight

[jtheg-767-142229 · 8/10 · 15 May 2014]

Seen so much about this movie being exploitative.

It isn't. At least not with the information given. And Caveh gives a lot of self-deprecating personal information in relation to the film. While making it clear that if anyone explicitly asked for a scene they were in to be cut because they thought they were in danger then he would. No-one did. Going by the closing credits no-one got in trouble.

This is unique. In a good way. Essential viewing for lovers of off-beat cinema. And know this: I greatly admire the director but had major moral problems with his "I don't hate Vegas anymore", so it's not like I'm blindly supporting the guy here.

Check it out. The IMDb write-up is bunk. There's no fatwa threatened and Zahedi does not cheerfully set out to annoy the establishment in every way he can think of. Instead he's out for freedom of expression, which includes admitting his own possible faults, and getting the film made. When the Arab spring hits in tandem with the hypocrisy becoming apparent of the arts department who invited him over, he releases it anyway. As he makes clear, no-one in the film explicitly told him not to because of danger to themselves. And the main players mostly end up in a much better situation. There's no evidence on film of exploitation as I see it.

See this. No-one knows about the country depicted. Which makes this so interesting. It's an honest, brave film that does (despite what people are saying) retain its integrity and furthermore entertains in a way no- one but Zahedi can.

A Must watch doc which blends its humour and narration very well

[samxxxul · 8/10 · 21 November 2020]

A serious humorous documentary about cinema, about passion, about the cruelty of society, about the unspeakable tragedy of Iranian-American provocateur Caveh Zahedi who tries to overcome walls that he is not allowed to cross. Zahedi is commissioned to make a film for a Middle East Biennial in one of the United Arab Emirates on the theme of "art as a subversive act." He immediately checks if there are rules and restrictions that needs to be followed to make the film. Bad news, he is told to abide by some rules and should not be bound by his artistic nature to feature nudity. This sounded dumb as Zahedi is clearly a subversive filmmaker and the Arab woman in charge knows few things about the filmmaker. Anyway, the action shifts to Sharjah and everything that follows this plotless documentary is sheer madness. There are also some great instances of humour, such as all of the strange people who inhabit the set during the shooting, the enthusiastic characters who want to be part of the film, Zahedi's sequence with his son. A mishmash of characters is introduced, and the director has a unclear cringy story for everyone of them to be part of the film including the Indian kids. I must say that Zahedi might sound self-indulged to expose the system in Sharjah. On the other hand, the provocation of the regime and the authorities is present in every sentence, in every shot, in every wink. It plays out like a documentary that's equal parts fiction and exposé with amateur and random people as actors. To conclude, this is an extremely over-the-top (deliberate), with characters flatter than paper. You can't really blame Zahedi though; he is limited by the size of his small crew and he really had extended to the end of his abilities to make/mock. Despite these major script/making troubles, this is truly a victory for the director who raises the output to a higher level with his humour.

ACTION !!! Caveh Zahedi : Son in Hand, Foot in Mouth and Tail between his legs !!!

[cardiffhut · 1/10 · 7 March 2013]

How does an Iranian with an American citizenship convince his countrymen that he is no longer from the middle east but a true American? Well... the way Caveh Zahedi does that is by getting stoned, his tail tucked securely between his legs and using his three year old son as cover to film the stupidest script resulting from his piped dreams.All he managed to do was to put some innocent people's lives in jeopardy after safely scampering away safely back to the USA.To even call this moron an independent filmmaker is beyond sanity."When an American filmmaker is commissioned to make a film for a Middle East Biennial on the theme of 'art as a subversive act,' his film is banned for blasphemy, he is asked to destroy every copy, and he is threatened with arrest" penned by Caveh Zahedi himself, is nothing but a figment of his doped-out, paranoid imagination.Don't waste a second of your life on this one, easily the worst "documentary" of the century.