Customer Reviews

Stone Merchant

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a movie about Islamic terrorists, not Islam or Christianity. The main character, Alceo, is a victim of terrorism, a journalist turned scholar who has become obsessed with learning about why his legs were taken away and so many innocents are murdered in the name of Allah.

When we meet him, he is a modern-day Cassandra who recites reason after reason why we find ourselves in a cultural, religious war (like it or not) yet who is dismissed as paranoid and unreasonable.

I failed to find anything in his character's lines that were historically or factually inaccurate. Yet he is ignored and dismissed by everyone, of course, including his wife, his colleagues, and the police.

Keitel and Abraham give performances commensurate with their experience; Jane March does a good job too. The others...well, I must say there is some poor acting in this film.

The dialogue is bad, the editing is bad, continuity is awful, and the screenplay has more than a few weak spots; this is clearly a B movie, maybe even a C movie struggling desperately to rise to a B.

Nevertheless, the storyline is plausible and appropriately frightening.
I read a review from Variety when this movie was released that called the storyline "highly improbable." I'm sure they would have said the same thing about the events of September 11, 2001. Anyone who's ever taken the Dover-Calais ferry or who's lived in Europe will take the premise of this movie seriously.

In spite of these many failings, the film makes a heraldic point, a statement about exactly what the West faces in militant Islam, based on history. This is the only film I can recall having seen that doesn't try to lay blame for today's Islamic jihad on the West's doorstep. None of the usual vacuous, politically correct blather here. He may not know how to write a good movie but the screenwriter certainly knows his Wahabi Salafists.

Because it takes such a risk, swimming against the fashion, the story (taken alone) seems brave and courageous, truthful while respectful, yet duly alarmist to a degree. Duly alarmist because the story is so eerily plausible. Again, anyone who lives in Europe and travels extensively throughout the continent like me knows it is.

Thus, I found the plot rather gripping overall, in spite of the love subplot, which I did not find plausible at all, as it asks us to accept a committed jihadist on the eve of martyrdom falling truly in love with a card-carrying infidel.

I've seen much worse movies. As an interesting contrast, compare Kingdom of Heaven, a very good film as far as entertainment and production quality go...but complete fiction and propaganda from a historical perspective.

This is one of those rare gems of a film that somehow fell through the cracks of Hollywood mainstream... but should be seen by more people, indeed.

I felt the story-line was a bit implausible, mostly in the "coincidental" meeting of the main characters, all at the same time, at a rather off-the-beaten path locale -- and for two of those main characters to quite become so "involved" with each other, (I mean with the age differences, and "attractability" factors, not making it a believably-positive connection for the most part). Sweeping all that aside, we are given a real treat in viewing a part of Turkey no one hardly ever sees; we are given some stunningly good camera work, at the beginning, and throughout the film in general; the acting is above board, and the "professor" is an extremely well-done part, with a character barely ever encountered in film -- and realistically so!

Granted, there may be a few flaws that are a bit incongruous. Such as: why do they really need "the dove," anyway? (I surmise that part was tied in only as a double way to get to the professor; AND the weakness of the merchant himself, at the last tally, is a little lacking... yet somewhat understood.) But the message in this film is NOT to be dismissed as fanciful, or merely imaginative, or just for the sake of drama. While I mournfully realize this could incite and underscore prejudice towards Muslims in general, one must discern that Islamic radicals, while indeed Muslim, are in a rather special category all their own -- and not to be ignored for their intended lethal-ity.

All in all, I found this one of the better films I've seen in the last couple of years -- since Hollywood has NOT been on the "keen edge" lately of putting out too much of worthwhile/enjoyable note. For anyone who may have missed this in the first go-around, it should be rented for a more than intriguing, satisfying, and thought-provoking evening at home.

This was a really pleasant surprise. Warts and all.

This film is a double impact. It deals with an Italian professor whose speciality is radical Islam. For this reason his wife has been a target of reprisal. This story chronicles the ultimate reprisal as the radicals manipulate her to an untimely death.

The underlying theme relates the the husband's struggles as a double amputee.
He lost his legs during an Islamic bomb attack and is constantly striving to keep himself strong and mobile. At the same time he must cope with phantom pain.

The film carries a strong political statement as well as an insightful look at the problems of disability.

Don't let the politically-correct crybabies discourage you from watching or buying this movie. It's a good contemporary thriller. I rented it, and am now buying it.

This is the first time I've seen Jane March, and I want to see more. F. Murray Abraham and Harvey Keitel were convincing in their roles.

It could have benefited from sub-titles, as some of the dialogue was low volume or the actors had accents.

The words and thoughts behind this movie were good. The problem is the story that surrounded those words was not as good and I thought it did drag out a bit. It probably is a story better for women then blokes.

I thought the acting was ordinary. The story but not believable! I suspect the stone merchant would not have felt much for his victim. Fanatics rarely do.

Overall it was watchable.

Regardless of what anybody says, to me this film was dramatized propaganda. It has certainly drawn out my anxious hostitlity towards the evergrowing radical Islamic population.

It seems that the only thing that will appease the extremists would be for any person of a different faith to study the Koran and then allow the violent Islamics to distort the writings just read. Then actually convert to Islam and then, turn into suicide bomber, thus killing those of different faiths and, according to these extremists, get their tickets to Heaven.

It's like watching the emergence of a huge Cult whipping up a lakeful of Koolaide.

I am old, but I wonder how the younger generations will manage to live on, with the increasing threats and inevitable destruction of other religions.

Was "The Stone Merchant" an entertainment or a warning?

Be careful, I thought that this was a deluxe version of the movie. But it's a "2-Pack"; 2 identical copies of the single movie.

I am a Jane March fan! She did not let me down in this one either!

I was visiting a relative recently who decided to rent this movie...

I'd like to say that everything the first review said is pretty accurate. The anti-terrorist agent scenes were quite bad; not only were the characters ridiculous, but their acting skills were terrible.
The problem with this movie is that there was no suspense in the storyline, crummy acting, and absolutely no plot or character developement. These are some of the most one-demensional characters I've seen in a while.
There are a lot of mindless action films out there that are redeeming on some level. This isn't one of them.

See Jane in bed. Hear Jane. Hear Jane pant, squeal and moan!

I love Jane!