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.

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writer:

Atom Egoyan

Stars:

Charles Aznavour, Brent Carver, Eric Bogosian

12 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Abkarian	...	Arshile Gorky
Charles Aznavour	...	Edward Saroyan
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

Storyline

People tell stories. In Toronto, an art historian lectures on Arshile Gorky (1904 -1948), an Armenian painter who lived through the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. A director invites the historian to help him include Gorky's story in a film about the genocide and Turkish assault on the town of Van. The historian's family is under stress: her son is in love with his step-sister, who blames the historian for the death of her father. The daughter wants to revisit her father's death and change that story. An aging customs agent tells his son about his long interview with the historian's son, who has returned from Turkey with canisters of film. All the stories connect.

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Plot Keywords:

armenian | armenian genocide | armenia | art history professor | armenian flag | 

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Taglines:

In a world full of denial, how do you determine who's telling the truth?

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Aznavour plays a character named Edward Saroyan. In the famous François Truffaut film Shoot the Piano Player (1960) Aznavour played a lead character with a very similar name: Edouard Saroyan.

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Quotes

Clarence Ussher: [Ani has interrupted his performance] What is this? God-damnit! We're surrounded by Turks. We've run out of supplies, most of us will die. The crowd needs a miracle, this child is bleeding to death. If I can save his life, it may give us the spirit to continue. This is his brother... his pregnant sister was raped in front of his eyes, before her stomach was slashed open, to stab her unborn child. His father's eyes were gouged out of his head and stuffed into his mouth. And his mother's breasts ...

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Crazy Credits

Closing disclaimers: 1) The historical events in this film have been substantiated by holocaust scholars, national archives, and eyewitness accounts, including that of Clarence Ussher. 2) To this day, Turkey continues to deny the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

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Connections

Referenced in Escape from the Newsroom (2002)

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Soundtracks

Mystery
Written by Gord Downie (as Gordon Downie) and Atom Egoyan
Performed by Gord Downie (as Gordon Downie)
From the album "Coke Machine Glow"
Courtesy of Wiener Art Records - copyright 2000
Copyright 2000 - Wiener Art (SOCAN)/Egoyan Ego Film Arts (SOCAN)

User Reviews

One of the worst films I've ever seen

I'm not a great fan of Egoyan, but I did find Felicia's Journey fairly competent. This last attempt (Ararat) is a sacrilege, a clumsy blundering mess of a film and a huge disservice to the Armenian people. If I were Armenian, I think I'd be very offended.

Details

Official Sites:

egofilmarts.com [Canada] Miramax

Country:

Canada France

Language:

English Armenian French German Turkish

Release Date:

6 December 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ararat

Filming Locations:

Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$211,130, 17 November 2002

Gross USA:

$1,555,959

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,743,336

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications, Serendipity Point Films, Ego Film Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1