Top critics on “The Promise” - An inspiring epic or a sloggy melodrama?April 26, 2017 - 19:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - “The Promise”, a historical drama set against the backdrop of the Armenian Genocide, hits theaters in Armenia on Thursday, April 27. The film has sparked a lot of debate and attracted massive media coverage as top critics from the globe’s most influential magazines and newspapers took the time to share their very own impressions from the movie. The war drama centers on a love story involving a medical student (Oscar Isaac), a journalist (Christian Bale), and the Armenian woman (Charlotte Le Bon) who steals their hearts. All three find themselves grappling with the Ottomans’ decision to begin rounding up and persecuting Armenians during the first genocide of the 20th century. Produced by late businessman Kirk Kerkorian, the Armenian Genocide epic -- which currently has a rating of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes -- made it to the big screen in the United States to fetch just $4.1 million over the first weekend.
The majority of opinions agree that “The Promise” deserves credit for shining light on a crime that’s denied to this day, that Isaac is the acting standout, but that a great subject goes kind of unnoticed behind the love story. The Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers gives credit to the producers, including the self-made Armenian-American billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who died in 2015 at 98, for treating the film as a passion project. “Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, still refuses to recognize these mass killings as genocide – as does the U.S. The Promise has no such qualms, however, allowing us to bear witness to atrocities that foreshadow the rise of Hitler and the existential horror of the Holocaust,” Travers says.
In a review of its own, Variety says that the fictional love story, which is designed to dramatize the Ottoman Empire's horrific treatment of its Armenian citizens in 1915, is an epic bore. “The events being considered deserve better than a sloggy melodrama in which the tragedy of a people is forced to take a back seat to a not especially compelling love triangle,” chief film critic Peter Debruge writes in Variety. The New York Times, though recognizing the great contribution of Oscar Issac and Christian Bale, says the film approaches the Armenian Genocide with too much calculation and not nearly enough heat. “...We never forget for one second that we’re watching actors in fancy dress; behind the curtain of cattle cars and starving workers, above the noise of the explosions, we can hear the moviemaking machinery clank and whir,” author Jeannette Carsoulis says.
According to The Associated Press, the Armenian Genocide is a curiously unexplored moment in modern history, cinematically speaking, and that fact alone makes "The Promise " intriguing enough. "The Promise" is a sprawling and handsome epic set around the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey, AP’s Lindsey Bahr says, adding, however, that despite the best of intentions, “the film fails to properly explain and contextualize both what led to that disgraceful episode, which Turkey to this day denies.” Deadline’s Pete Hammond hails the movie as inspiring and sweeping. With a reported budget of $90 million-$100 million, Hammond says,it is heartening to see anyone care to even attempt a movie on this scale and subject matter these days. The Armenian Genocide The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million. Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |