Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Ararat (2002)
Ararat
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Photos (see all 38 | slideshow) Videos
Ararat (2002) -- 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.

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   6,352 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Atom Egoyan
Writer:
Atom Egoyan (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ararat on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 September 2002 (France) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
A Quest For Truth... Among Lies, Deception And Denial. more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
12 wins & 9 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Atom Egoyan interview for "Adoration"
 (From Movie Jungle. 22 May 2009)

Film: Review: Adoration
 (From The AV Club. 14 May 2009, 12:02 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
A Turkish-American's perspective.... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity and language.
Runtime:
USA:115 min
Country:
Canada | France
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Calgary, Alberta, Canada more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Ani: Did you give her my book?
Raffi: This is too weird for me.
Ani: What is weird Raffi?
[pause]
Ani: Smoking pot, or sleeping with you step-sister?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Film Geek (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Mystery more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
61 out of 111 people found the following comment useful:-
A Turkish-American's perspective...., 9 February 2004
6/10
Author: Tilly Gokbudak from Roanoke, Va.

I have hesitated to see this film for many reasons, some might be obvious but others might not. I watched it on Starz the other night. I had questioned whether to go ahead and view or instead watch "All or Nothing" by one of the cinema's most intriquing directors, Mike Leigh, on another cable network. But, for better or worse, I am glad I saw this film. For starters, I have always been an admirer of Atom Egoyan. I feel he was snubbed, and should have been a best director Oscar nominee for "The Sweet Hereafter" (1997). I think he is very brave for making this film for surely even within the Armenian community there are many political povs about this issue and about how they should feel about it. I will refrain from getting into the politics of the subject matter of "Ararat" and into my own personal view about this controversy which is very much riddled in red tape for reasons I understand all too painfully well. Sadly, the rest of the world probably never will. Except, I will say, that the problem is two-fold. One, there is the Armenian conflict that Turkey and Turkish people do not accept or have outright distorted their view of history. Second, there is the reality that Turkey and the Turkish culture is very much hated, despised and oppressed in the West for reasons that partially stem from this issue as well as many others. I challenge any of you to go to a Blockbuster, or any other video store and try to find a Turkish film. I am 99 percent you will not find one even though the list of outstanding Turkish film directors is one which includes the likes of Yilmaz Guney, the director of "Baba" (The Father) "Yol" -- who was admittedly censored considerably in Turkey until recently (he died in political exile in France some 20 years ago), Ali Ozgenturk who directed "At---The Horse" and Sinan Cetin who directed the outstanding, internationally praised political comedy "Propaganda." I could also mention Serif Goren, Zeki Okten and so many others. It is a simple truth that while the West criticizes Turkey for various infractions, including its' treatment of ethnic Kurds, yet it continously suppresses the Turkish culture and Turkish people itself.Having grown up in the USa, and being half-American, I can validfy that this is the way it is. It may not be intentional, but all of us know that it some form or fashion 'the n----rs of Europe" tag applied to Turkish-Europeans applies to all of us. Now having said this one might think, I am going to criticize Egoyan for making this film. But, he has every artistic right to make "Ararat" and everyone, including people in Turkey, have a right to view this film and make their own decisions about this film. I do not consider "Ararat" a hate film as some others like "Midnight Express" and arguably "America, America" are. However, I do think the character of Ali, played by Elias Koteas, who was great in "The Thin Red Line" is cookie-cutter stereotype of Turkish-Westerners. He seems like a deliberately crude person who says things like "let's just drop our 'expletive' history" and he seems like a person devoid of any intellectual curiosity. Even though I have nothing against homosexuals, I don't think it was appropriate to make this character homosexual either. By doing so, the character plays into a stereotype that Billy Hayes utilized in his book (perhaps novel would be a more accurate word) "Midnight Express." This is the notion that all Turks are 'secretly gay' and therefore they are 'violent towards women.' My statements may seem outright ridicilous but few of you have probably endured the subliminal hatred that each of us who live in the West know to be a true fact of life. The film in a film scenes of the film actually are not ones which bother me as much. There is clearly a dark history here and it somehow has to be approached diplomatically but until the abuse of the Turkish culture is also approached, I am afraid as it was once said in "Cool Hand Luke." --- we will always have a failure to communicate.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ararat (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
'Ararat' on national Turkish tv channel.. mailonur
Documents surface re: genocide moenobber
Commentary better than the movie *Spoilers* hollandprojects
Canon Theatre, Toronto?? TheSpeedQueen
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Novecento The Aviator Edvard Munch The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Titanic
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb Canada section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.