Atom Egoyan, "Ararat" (2002).
I purchased the DVD of Atom Egoyan's Ararat some time ago. I had enjoyed several of the director's previous films, such as The Sweet Hereafter, Calendar, and Speaking Parts. But somehow it never felt like the right time to open this sealed package. From its cover and description, Ararat appeared to be a rather convoluted docudrama about a time and place I had very little interest in. I was certain that it would be a well-made film, but I expected it to be difficult to get through. I wasn't even sure why I had purchased it.
But M. chose it among the many shrink-wrapped movies sitting on my shelves. So I resigned myself to be patient, and settled in for the duration. From the opening credits forward, I knew that it was going to be (at least) good to look at. Twenty minutes in, I realized that this was an intensely intricate film, with answers that were going to be only slowly revealed. Before the viewer can get a purchase on one set of characters, the story introduces another group. Then we discover that Ararat contains a film within a film, and that careful attention is going to be required if we want to understand what is going on. But rather than seeming like a chore, all these complications drew me completely into the film-watching experience. It doesn't hurt that there are a lot of beautiful people to watch.
The stories of several characters interweave throughout the arc of Ararat. The focal point is a young Armenian man named Raffi (played by David Alpay). He is relating the story of his ancestors to an initially reluctant customs agent (Christopher Plummer). Another thread involves the emotional conflict between Raffi's girlfriend and his mother (aptly portrayed by the Egoyan's wife, Arsinée Khanjian). The customs agent-man's son and boyfriend (Elias Koteas) make appearances in order to play their roles in the extended drama. Additionally, we see scenes from a drama being created about the Turkish-enacted genocide of the Armenians. The connections loop back upon themselves as Raffi's mother (an art historian) is hired on as a consultant on the film set. The fictional director (Charles Aznavour) has decided to incorporate the story of a famous Armenian painter into his masterpiece.
What? Wait a second... The Turkish-enacted genocide of the Armenians?! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Unfortunately, all too few. In 1915, during WWI, Turkish soldiers (under the command of the Ottoman Empire) entered the western part of Turkey (called Anatolia), and systematically slaughtered 800,000 Armenians. Many believe that this stemmed from the contempt Turkish Muslims had for the Christian Armenians. The official action was justified by Turkish propaganda that claimed that Armenians were in league with the enemy (Russia). This monumental tragedy was (in part) subsequently overshadowed by the holocaust(s) of the second world war. Incidentally, the lack of consequences for the powers responsible for the genocide were later said to empower Adolf Hitler. When challenged about his plans for the Jews, Hitler notably replied ," Who, after all, speaks to-day of the annihilation of the Armenians?" To this day, the Turkish government refuses to acknowledge that there was a systematic campaign of genocide against the Armenian people.
Beyond the light that Egoyan shines upon a little-known event of monumental suffering, there is a similar illumination that the director directs upon the vulnerable relationships of Ararat's contemporary characters. He asks vital questions about self-doubt, perception, creativity, and memory. These are consistent themes for Egoyan, so it is no surprise that emotional complexity would be a strength of Ararat. But it is notable just how seamlessly he is able to weave a very large story through these highly personal interactions.
But M. chose it among the many shrink-wrapped movies sitting on my shelves. So I resigned myself to be patient, and settled in for the duration. From the opening credits forward, I knew that it was going to be (at least) good to look at. Twenty minutes in, I realized that this was an intensely intricate film, with answers that were going to be only slowly revealed. Before the viewer can get a purchase on one set of characters, the story introduces another group. Then we discover that Ararat contains a film within a film, and that careful attention is going to be required if we want to understand what is going on. But rather than seeming like a chore, all these complications drew me completely into the film-watching experience. It doesn't hurt that there are a lot of beautiful people to watch.
The stories of several characters interweave throughout the arc of Ararat. The focal point is a young Armenian man named Raffi (played by David Alpay). He is relating the story of his ancestors to an initially reluctant customs agent (Christopher Plummer). Another thread involves the emotional conflict between Raffi's girlfriend and his mother (aptly portrayed by the Egoyan's wife, Arsinée Khanjian). The customs agent-man's son and boyfriend (Elias Koteas) make appearances in order to play their roles in the extended drama. Additionally, we see scenes from a drama being created about the Turkish-enacted genocide of the Armenians. The connections loop back upon themselves as Raffi's mother (an art historian) is hired on as a consultant on the film set. The fictional director (Charles Aznavour) has decided to incorporate the story of a famous Armenian painter into his masterpiece.
What? Wait a second... The Turkish-enacted genocide of the Armenians?! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Unfortunately, all too few. In 1915, during WWI, Turkish soldiers (under the command of the Ottoman Empire) entered the western part of Turkey (called Anatolia), and systematically slaughtered 800,000 Armenians. Many believe that this stemmed from the contempt Turkish Muslims had for the Christian Armenians. The official action was justified by Turkish propaganda that claimed that Armenians were in league with the enemy (Russia). This monumental tragedy was (in part) subsequently overshadowed by the holocaust(s) of the second world war. Incidentally, the lack of consequences for the powers responsible for the genocide were later said to empower Adolf Hitler. When challenged about his plans for the Jews, Hitler notably replied ," Who, after all, speaks to-day of the annihilation of the Armenians?" To this day, the Turkish government refuses to acknowledge that there was a systematic campaign of genocide against the Armenian people.
Beyond the light that Egoyan shines upon a little-known event of monumental suffering, there is a similar illumination that the director directs upon the vulnerable relationships of Ararat's contemporary characters. He asks vital questions about self-doubt, perception, creativity, and memory. These are consistent themes for Egoyan, so it is no surprise that emotional complexity would be a strength of Ararat. But it is notable just how seamlessly he is able to weave a very large story through these highly personal interactions.
posted by Merge Divide at 4:54 PM
4 Comments:
This Movie is beautiful, and emmotionally gripping.A constant flow of inriching visuals with depressing information, a tender relationship with truth.
Why is our history so ugly then?
And doesnt art play a potant, personal part, in the making of a story such as this, some kind of point, you can see through or take a position on ether side?
Well, in fact opinions on this film are often quite contentious. There is still a large contingent of people who deny that there ever was a, Armenian genocide. Just check out the reviews on Amazon.
Most of the elements that weren't ugly in our history have been small interactions that wouldn't necessarily be recordable in the history books.
So, you know your history?
Is there any balance to the negative-positive recording of the
history of people and planet?
Do we indulge more into darkness/death or the Light/life?
And is the only light in life of man and woman making children, and dont many think we might be making to many?I for one have hope in the facts of life,if this is our only measure, instinctivly to act in a positive factor other than all the history we create here.
I know some history. I don't know if much "balance" exists, or even if it's meant to. But if it does I think it has very little to do with positive/negative. When one life-form becomes evolutionarily adaptive, it tends to thrive and experience a population increase until the climate changes again (or something else learns better ways of killing it).
From my viewpoint, there are a lot of functions that are worthwhile to humans in addition to reproduction.
Post a Comment
<< Home