本片虚构了一个阿拉伯人的梦境,超越时间的限制,还有神秘的苏菲教门派色彩贯穿在其中,成为这个美丽故事的主题.不得不说,无论导演是否有意把异族事物作为一种元素加入到电影中,一些观众还是会发现影片里充满了魔幻神奇的味道,仿佛正在阅读一千零一页中新的篇章,或者说虚幻得好像是精灵坠入了尘世之间.据报道称,在参加国际上的电影节前夕,导演还对电影进行了重新剪辑,增加了一些致谢名单作为故事的一部分.在伊朗的版本中同样也做了部分改动,比如说删去了女性跳舞的镜头,当然这些都还会保留在国际发行的版本里.
导演在片中加入了很多带有异国色彩的元素,如中东美女跳舞,乐队大奏阿拉伯音乐,诗人用异国语言颂读诗篇等.同时又摄下沙漠黄沙万里的漂亮景色,更略略渗进苏菲教这门神秘教派的元素.这些元素,在不太熟悉中东文化的观众眼里,无疑都是很新鲜的东西.
大部分场景拍摄于伊朗,摄影师Mahmoud Klalri对影像处理得相当出色,画面美轮美奂.其中一个场地是在名叫Bam的古城,正好是在大地震爆发前一个月拍摄的.在这个被时间遗忘的世界里,偶然闯进摄影机镜头前的现代化产物,比如说摩托车和飞机,为影片神秘而古老的题材增添了几分趣味.

This second feature in Nacer Khemir's Desert Trilogy is a visually ravishing folktale reminiscent of "The Thousand and One Nights." The story revolves around Hassan, who is studying Arabic calligraphy from a grand master. Coming across a fragment of manuscript, Hassan goes in search of the missing pieces, believing that once he finds them, he will learn the secrets of love. With the help of Zin, a lovers' go-between, he meets the beautiful Aziz, Princess of Samarkand. After encountering wars, a battle between false prophets and an ancient curse, he learns that an entire lifetime would not suffice for him to learn the many dimensions of love.

A teacher is assigned to a remote desert village that is obsessed with a mysterious buried treasure and whose children are cursed to wander the desert.

A man (played by the filmmaker Nacer Khemir) returns home to Tunisia to bury his mother. After the burial, his father gives him an “amana” to be handed to a certain Sheikh named Muhyiddin. Taken by his father’s request, the man immediately sets out on an epic journey to find the long lost Sheikh and deliver the “amana.” Throughout the trip, he is guided by a mysterious spiritual master and the many friends of the Sheikh he encounters along the way. As the adventure unfolds, we discover the rich life of this Sheikh and his uncompromising love for humanity. For under his teachings, different beliefs, faiths, and ways of life can only converge and become one. The more we learn about Sheikh Muhyiddin, the more we understand why he is venerated across cultures and continents. Looking for Muhyiddin is a deeply lyrical odyssey into the soul of Islam through the life and work of one of its beloved mystics: Ibn Arabi.