Summary
In the early Soviet era, a cinematic anomaly emerged in Azerbaijan, as a locally-driven production, 'Bismillah', endeavored to challenge the entrenched precepts of Islam. Directed by an Azeri filmmaker who would later achieve renown, this film navigated the Revolution's tumultuous landscape, spotlighting a rapacious Molla, emblematic of clerical abuse, who systematically exploited a local peasant. The narrative arc unfolds as the Bolsheviks arrive, galvanizing the peasant to seek redress in the newly constituted 'People's Court', where the Molla faces justice and censure.
Synopsis
Religiously themed early Soviet propaganda film in Azerbaijan against Islam. Unlike earlier propaganda films in the region, this was actually made by an (nearly) all Azeri cast and crew and directed by an Azeri filmmaker that would go on to be famous amongst his own people, despite his early collusion with the new ruling government. At the center of the film is a greed Molla (holy man in Azeri Islam) who has been cheating one of the local peasants for years out of all types of goods and services, and then delighting over his success in an very un-religious, specifically un-Islamic, way. Once the Revolution takes place and the Bolsheviks arrive, the peasant is empowered and realizes the deception on the part of the Molla and takes him to the newly set up "People's Court," where is finds justice and the Molla is punished.
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