Ritual is a primary theme in Makhmalbaf's 1996 film Gabbeth. The film opens with the old couple going through a ritual of washing the wool carpet known as the "Gabbeth". As they unfold the Gabbeth in the stream the couple enter into a fanciful memory of their own youth when they were young and courting. Their memories are kept alive in this ritual and as the old man suggests, "if we do not wash the Gabbeth (keeping this ritual or remembering their youth), then who will." The rituals within the tribal family show the pains of having to wait until their place in the birth order to be married.
Makhmalbaf's film beautifully weaves the landscape of Iran into symbolic representation in the film. The uncle teaches the children colors by pointing to the yellow flowers and the red poppies that are later used in the dye making for the Gabbeth. The colors and landscape in the natural world symbolize the textures of culture and tradition in their lives. Also, the cry of the wolf becomes the sound of the young man's heart longing for his love. Makhmalbaf allows us to visualize and associate what the young couple is feeling and how special it is when they elope.
Makhmalbaf's film beautifully weaves the landscape of Iran into symbolic representation in the film. The uncle teaches the children colors by pointing to the yellow flowers and the red poppies that are later used in the dye making for the Gabbeth. The colors and landscape in the natural world symbolize the textures of culture and tradition in their lives. Also, the cry of the wolf becomes the sound of the young man's heart longing for his love. Makhmalbaf allows us to visualize and associate what the young couple is feeling and how special it is when they elope.