Ararat (2002)

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

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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 | Turkish

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:

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

Soundtrack:

Mystery

a giant multi-colored tapestry

A film within a film within a film that plays out through a myriad of interconnected stories sewn into a giant multi-colored tapestry. The so called "Armenian holocaust" is the fabric from which director Egoyan spins his narrative, and this event so heavily laden with emotional baggage, becomes almost impossible to approach with intellectual objectivity. The lines between fact and fiction are constantly blurred as in a scene where the protagonist walks onto a movie set about the "holocaust" and one of the characters scolds her, not as an actor, but as a very real character from that time. At times this constant commingling loses focus, but Egoyan's heartfelt attempt to bring back the dead through his art imitating art approach, succeeds surprisingly well. Although the "holocaust" is shown graphically, Egoyan is aware that we connect most deeply with that to which we can all relate, and this is shown right from the start as an artist attempts to transfer his childhood memories of murdered loved ones to a painter's canvas; the details of a mothers dress . . . the skin of a mothers hand . . . her fingers knitting a quilt. The vivid colors and simple reality of that hand are so compelling they can reach out across decades of despair to caress the forehead, reduce fever, and impart a sense of belonging - a reason for being. From this inauspicious beginning, Egoyan is able to arrive at a much greater truth: the inherent need for human beings to believe in something - whether or not that belief is grounded in reality or can be proved scientifically. Finally, ARATAT concludes with a simple truth that is just as powerful: the immeasurable but often neglected joy at being able to look upon our loved ones and to hold them in an embrace of life.