[ARABIAN NIGHTS
VOLUME 1: THE RESTLESS ONE screens Saturday February 6th at 6:45 pm and
Sunday February 7th at 8:15 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]
Review by Bob Ignizio
Although it takes its name from the classic literary
collection, ARABIAN NIGHTS VOLUME 1: THE
RESTLESS ONE is not an adaptation. Rather it takes the structure of One Thousand and One Nights, in which the wife of a murderous sultan keeps
herself alive by telling her husband stories each night that end on a
cliffhanger. Well, that’s the conceit, anyway. It doesn’t quite feel that way, despite
efforts to sell viewers on the notion through onscreen titles, but honestly it
doesn’t matter. The film nonetheless accomplishes the task of connecting its
disparate tales.
