Ararat (2002)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writer:

Atom Egoyan (written by)

Release Date:

4 September 2002 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Quest For Truth... Among Lies, Deception And Denial.

Plot:

Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide claims.

Plot Keywords:

Genocide | Armenian Genocide | Gorky | Customs Officer | Lecture

Awards:

12 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Simon Abkarian	...	Arshile Gorky
Charles Aznavour	...	Edward
Christopher Plummer	...	David
Arsinée Khanjian	...	Ani
Setta Keshishian	...	Dinner Guest / Wailing Mother
David Alpay	...	Raffi
Shant Srabian	...	Dinner Guest #3 / Doctor #1
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Celia
Elias Koteas	...	Ali / Jevdet Bay
Brent Carver	...	Philip
Max Morrow	...	Tony
Christie MacFadyen	...	Janet
Dawn Roach	...	Customs Officer
Garen Boyajian	...	Young Gorky
Lousnak Abdalian	...	Gorky's Mother

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

USA:115 min

Country:

Canada | France

Language:

English | Armenian | French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Denmark:15 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Brazil:14 | Australia:MA | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Quotes:

Raffi: But he thinks Turkey was at war with Armenia. Doesn't it bother you that he doesn't get the history?
Edward Saroyan: No, not really.
Raffi: I mean why didn't you explain to him that we were citizens, we were Turkish citizens. We had a right to be protected.
Edward Saroyan: Are you driving him home?
Raffi: Yeah.
Edward Saroyan: Huh. Take this.
[hands him dollar bills]
Edward Saroyan: Buy him a bottle of champagne. Let him think that he has done something special.
Raffi: Something special? I'm sorry, Mr Saroyan, I don't think I understand.
Edward Saroyan: Young man, do you know what still causes so much pain? It's not the people we lost, or the land. It's to know that we could be so hated. Who are these people, who could hate us so much? How can they still deny their hatred? And so hate us... hate us even more?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Mystery

Egoyan's worst.

I ran out to see this in the theater since Egoyan was one of my favorite director's (that was until I saw this movie), with The Adjuster & Exotica my favorites. His talent has been on the decline since Exotica, perhaps because he can't make a film without his wife in it (Felicia's Journey being the exception). In this film she is awful, but so are most of the actors. This film was the biggest disappointment in 2002 for me. This is a message film & the message is: Turks committed genocide agaist Armenians & genocide is bad. Otherwise, the film did nothing to impart knowledge of the historical events that are supposed to be the basis for the film. The acting is universally wooden. The storyline was poorly written. A completely lifeless film. I'm surprised by all the 10's it has received. 3/10