The Ornament of the World

Nov 19, 2019

1h 56m

★ 7.8

Overview

Filmed in Cordoba, Granada, Seville, and Toledo, this documentary retraces the 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Christians, and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences, revealing what made this rare and fruitful collaboration possible, and what ultimately tore it apart.

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

Kikim Media

The Ornament of the World Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Himself (Hebrew Union College)

Reuven Firestone

Himself (New York University)

David Levering Lewis

Herself (Sarah Lawrence College)

Jerrilynn D. Dodds

Himself (New York University)

Frank Peters

Herself (Author, The Ornament of the World)

María Rosa Menocal

Herself (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

D. Fairchild Ruggles

Herself (New York University)

Abigail Balbale

Himself (Queen's University)

Adnan Husain

Himself (Univ. of California, Los Angeles)

Teofilo Ruiz

Himself (Univ. of California, Santa Barbara)

Dwight Reynolds

Himself (Cornell University)

Ross Brann

Himself (Columbia University)

Richard Bulliet

Bible expert Bill Gallatin explores biblical prophecies from the Book of Revelation that have transpired, with a discussion of whether these events signify that we are now living in the End Times preceding the return of Jesus Christ. Gallatin touches on events such as the increasingly acute difficulties in the Middle East, numerous environmental catastrophes, earthquakes and more, explaining how they connect to scriptural writings.

7.1

Land Without Bread

Dec 1, 1933

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

4.0

Voices in Wartime

Mar 4, 2004

Voices in Wartime is a 2004 documentary that explores the human experience of war through poetry. Combining interviews with soldiers, journalists, and historians, it reveals how war affects individuals and societies across time and place. The film features poets from around the world – from Homer and Wilfred Owen to Shoda Shinoe and modern writers in Iraq and Nigeria – showing how poetry expresses the pain, trauma, and truth of conflict. By linking verse with real-life accounts, Voices in Wartime highlights how poetry helps us understand the emotional and moral impact of war.

0.0

Ieri è Oggi

Jun 4, 2025

No overview available.

6.2

Kafr Kassem

Jan 2, 1974

On the eve of the Israeli attack on Egypt in 1956, Israel declares martial law in all the occupied Arab territories without any previous notice. When the villagers of Kafr Kassem returned home from the fields, they were butchered and killed in what is known today as the massacre of “Kafr Kassem”.

5.0

Bethune: The Making of a Hero

Sep 17, 1993

True story of Norman Bethune, a medical doctor who fought for justice in China during Mao's rise to power.

6.8

A Passage to India

Dec 14, 1984

Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.

0.0

Rachí

Apr 21, 2024

Combining modern footage with home movies and interviews, filmmaker María Casado's life is explored, focusing on themes of family, history, and belonging, with a particular emphasis on childhood experiences related to home.

8.0

Rocío

Jul 1, 1980

The film shows the genesis of the El Rocío pilgrimage and unveils the economic, socio-political and religious reasons and interests that nurture the phenomenon.

4.5

A Life Apart: Hasidism in America

Aug 25, 1998

A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, is the first in-depth documentary about a distinctive, traditional Eastern European religious community. In an historic migration after World War II, Hasidism found it's most vital center in America. Both challenging and embracing American values, Hasidim seek those things which many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a close relationship to God. Integrating critical and analytical scholarship with a portrait of the daily life, beliefs, and history of contemporary Hasidic Jews in New York City, the film focuses on the conflicts, burdens, and rewards of the Hasidic way of life.

6.5

Rosewood

Feb 21, 1997

Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.

5.1

Wyszynski - Revenge or Forgiveness

Sep 17, 2021

This film tells the story of lieutenant Stefan Wyszynski (Ksawery Szlenkier) - the future Primate of Poland, unknown to a wider audience. It is 1944, in the heat of war, we meet a young priest Wyszynski, who has recently been appointed chaplain of the branch in the Kampinos Forest. It is also active in the insurgent hospital. Everyone knows him there under the pseudonym "Radwan III". The reality of the war is for Fr. Wyszynski, a forge of character, a fight for hope and love, especially against enemies. How are we to forgive in everyday warfare? The hero asks, turning to the Source of his vocation.

0.0

Song

Apr 11, 2014

Song is a story of the last Finnish rune singer and his pupil, and the comforting power of singing.

6.3

Afghan Star

Dec 3, 2008

This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.

6.8

Barabbas

Dec 23, 1961

Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.

0.0

Oriana Fallaci intervista Ayatollah Khomeini

Sep 26, 1979

Oriana Fallaci, the Italian journalist who is noted for her provocative interviews, interviews the leader of the Islamic Revolution, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on Sept 12, 1979. For 10 days Oriana Fallaci waited in the holy city of Qum for her interview with the 79 year old Ayatollah, who is the de facto ruler of Iran. On Sept. 12, she was led into the Faizeyah religious school, where Khomeini holds his audiences. She was accompanied by two Iranians Nyho and Iran prime minster Banisadr who had helped set up the interview and who served as translators. Oriana Fallaci, barefoot, enveloped in a chador, the head to toe veil of the Moslem woman, was seated on a carpet, when the Ayatollah entered, and the recorded interview could begin.

8.1

Prayers for Bobby

Jan 24, 2009

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.

7.4

City of Life and Death

Apr 22, 2009

In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.