Ararat (2002)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writer:

Atom Egoyan (written by)

Release Date:

4 September 2002 (France)

Genre:

Drama | War

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:

Armenian | Genocide | Armenian Genocide | Turkish | Death

Awards:

12 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Simon Abkarian	...	Arshile Gorky
Charles Aznavour	...	Edward Sorayan
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:

David: [takes out pomegranate] You can't bring this in.
Edward Saroyan: [endearingly] Please.
David: No fruit or vegetables, that includes pomegranates. it's on your form.
Edward Saroyan: I like to eat the seed of this fruit. One each day. For luck.
David: I'm sorry, that's not allowed.
[Mr Saroyan takes out his penknife and cuts the fruit open]
David: What are you doing?
Edward Saroyan: This way, I don't need to bring it in. I eat it here, at the gate of your country. Look
[takes a bite and nods agreeingly]
Edward Saroyan: So, I bring luck in my stomach. Will you try it?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Ararat' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mystery

An average movie

I totally sympathize with the Armenian plight but this isn't quite as good as I expected it to be (was hoping to be around the quality level of Schindler's List, ah well, life goes on).

The characters are highly exaggerated/stereotyped (which I suppose is justifiable, after all Crash was a good movie) I'm assuming to get the message across better. My main scruple is that David Alpay didn't have enough experience entering this film. He certainly wasn't bad, just below average.. which sadly doesn't cut it for a lead role.

Some of the lines aren't too great although Elias Koteas rises above the material (the scene where he talks about his opinion on the genocide is way too forced, really should have been revised). I also think he could have done a better job portraying Jevdet Bay-he came across as being very monstrous but it just didn't seem natural coming from him.

In any case, this movie is ridiculously overrated, but just as underrated. I understand that the Armenians want some 'moving' portrayal of the atrocities against them but this didn't exploit its full potential.