The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam (2005)

41% of critics liked it
(22 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(140 ratings)

A pair of young men living in the 21st century relive the tales of one of their ancient forbearers in this historical drama. Kamran (Adam Echahly) is a 12-year-old boy of Iranian heritage whose older brother, Nader (Puya Behinaein), is slowly dying. Kamran and Nader's family puts a great value on… More A pair of young men living in the 21st century relive the tales of one of their ancient forbearers in this historical drama. Kamran (Adam Echahly) is a 12-year-old boy of Iranian heritage whose older brother, Nader (Puya Behinaein), is slowly dying. Kamran and Nader's family puts a great value on preserving the oral history of their ancestors, and Nader is passing on this responsibility by telling his brother the story of their distant relative, the great scientist and poet Omar Khayyam (Bruno Lastra). In the 11th century, Omar is close friends with Hassan Sabbeh (Christopher Simpson), a passionate Muslim warrior, and they are both infatuated with the lovely Darya (Marie Espinosa). However, in time Omar and Hassan's paths in life diverge; Omar joins the court of the Sultan Malikshah (Moritz Bleibtreu) and uses his considerable wisdom to study mathematics and the stars, while Hassan succumbs to his rage and forms a cult of killers known as the Assassins. The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam was the first feature film for Iranian-American director Kayvan Mashayekh. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Kayvan Mashayekh
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Sep 5, 2006

Critic Reviews

Drew Tillman, Village Voice
[A] plodding and pretentious historical drama.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
The writing, acting and direction are so amateurish that the only thing you'll care about is escaping the theater.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The director approaches the enormity of his task with an earnest enthusiasm, offering a likable alternative to the assembly-line banality of so many family films.
Dana Stevens, New York Times
The story behind the making of The Keeper is more inspiring than the film itself.
John Anderson, Newsday
Ambitious, heartfelt and grand in both its ideas and its pride of place (the Middle East), the film suffers from its virtues.
Joe Leydon, Variety
A reverentially pokey drama that plays less like a conventional movie than a lengthy series of hagiographic historical tableaux.
Eric Monder, Film Journal International
A lovely-looking, capably made motion picture.
Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
Comes to us wrapped in hand-woven shawls of struggle and perseverance.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
While sumptuously beautiful, the film is often stilted and undermined by some painfully amateurish performances that no good intentions can smooth over.
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics
More education than entertainment, Mashayekh's first feature length film tells a valid story but fails to produce on the promise of court intrigues and swordplay.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
The Keeper suffers from a surfeit of scattershot acting and clunky narrative devices that usher the viewer back and forth through time with all the subtlety of a culture clash.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
The movie gets historical with the warring factions in Persia, Hassan's attempt to assassinate the Sultan, and other Lawrence of Arabia style stuff in the desert.
John Venable, Supercala.com
For those who know of Omar Khayyam, make the trip to the theater to see this one. If you're just curious, wait for the DVD.