The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017)

This movie is a love story between an idealistic American nurse and a Turkish officer in World War I.

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writer:

Jeff Stockwell

Stars:

Michiel Huisman, Hera Hilmar, Josh Hartnett

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michiel Huisman	...	Ismail
Hera Hilmar	...	Lillie
Josh Hartnett	...	Jude
Ben Kingsley	...	Woodruff
Haluk Bilginer	...	Khalil Bey
Affif Ben Badra	...	Christapor
Paul Barrett	...	Mr. Rowe
Jessica Turner	...	Mrs. Rowe
Peter Hosking	...	Mr. Clemson
Selçuk Yöntem	...	Melih Pasha
Eliska Slansky	...	Aghavni
Hasan Say	...	Ahmet
Deniz Kilic Flak	...	Zoya
Aysen Sümercan	...	Aghavni's Grandmother
Murat Seven	...	Leader

Storyline

A strong-willed young woman, who, frustrated by on-going injustice at home, leaves the U.S. after meeting Jude, an American doctor who runs a remote medical mission within the Ottoman Empire. A world both exotic and dangerous, and on the brink of what is about to become World War I. There, she finds her loyalty to Jude and the mission's founder tested when she falls in love with their perceived enemy, a Lieutenant in the Ottoman Imperial Army. Now, with invading army forces at their doorstep, and the world about to plunge into all-out war, she must make a decision if she wants to be what other people want her to be, or to be herself.

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Plot Keywords:

world war one | wwi nurse | ottoman empire | armenian | 1910s | 

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Taglines:

In a land on the brink of war the most dangerous place to be is in love.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war violence

Details

Country:

Turkey USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor em Tempos de Guerra

Filming Locations:

Cappadocia, Turkey

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ES Film, Eastern Sunrise Films, Es Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Ben Kingsley and Hera Hilmar appeared in An Ordinary Man (2017).

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Goofs

The island with the 10th Century church on the Lake Van is referred, or rather pronounced several times as the "Ahtamar Island" whereas the correct name is "Akdamar".

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Quotes

Ismail: You should'nt wander off.
Lillie: I'm perfectly fine. Is that Mount Ararat where Noah landed?
Ismail: Yes. We call it Agri Dagi.
Lillie: Agri Dagi.
Ismail: Noah and the Great Flood. Adam and Eve. You know, it's also part of the Islamic culture.
Lillie: Really?
Ismail: Hm-hm.
Lillie: Adam and Eve?
Ismail: Hm-hm. Only in the islamic telling they weren't driven out of the garden. They were placed in different parts of the world, so they had to search to find each other.
Ismail: Please stay close.

User Reviews

So what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?

Okay I will admit that as far as action/adventure/romance films go, I have seen a lot worse, but after watching thousands of films over the past six (6) decades I appreciate viewing more than the run of the mill wide angle cinematic adventure with excellent color and a decent music score but that takes too many liberties with historical events.

This film is a story about a 23 year old Philadelphia nurse named Lillie (Hera Hilmar) who comes from a well to do family. Lillie rather quickly becomes disenchanted with the class struggles in her hometown and infatuated with an American born doctor without borders named Dr. Jude (Josh Hartnett). Dr Jude is only in Philadelphia to acquire donations and to speak about the hospital he works at which is indifferent to the imminent first world war and whose sole purpose is to serve both the Turkish and Armenian soldiers who insist on either killing each other first, or maiming each other as a consolation. So Lillie abandons her comfortable living, cashes in her grandmother's inheritance for medical supplies which she expects to deliver to her dreamy doctor's hospital thousands of miles away. To travel to the hospital Lillie is assigned an Ottoman Lieutenant named Ismail (Michiel Huisman). Lillie and Ismail are from two completely and diverse backgrounds both in their religious beliefs as well as their customs.

So you can figure out there is the makings of a love triangle with Dr. Jude (Josh Hartnett) and Ismail (Michiel Huisman) vying for the naive nurse Lillie's affections. I really liked Michiel Huisman's portrayal of Lieutenant Ismail and I was not very impressed with either Dr. Jude's medical prowess, nor with his continuing to put on and repeatedly take off his spectacles from the bridge of his nose. Quite frankly I would have preferred to see him continually pick his nose than to remove and place on, remove and place on his spectacles, it was irritating and added no value to his proficiency as a medical doctor.

As for Lillie, she was quite attractive, but once again her abilities as a nurse working in a foreign countries hospital were questionable at best. If you must see it for yourself how poorly she behaved as a nurse look no further than the final scene in the film where she is outside supposedly attending to the wounded soldiers. She puts her hand on their forehead (some diagnosis eh?) as they lay on a stretcher and then she points them to one of three entrance ways as if that is going to stop their bleeding?

I liked the film overall for light entertainment with above average cinematography and a decent musical score. The adventure and action sequences though were below par. I give the film a five (5) out of ten (10) score.