Taglines: A Quest For Truth… Among Lies, Deception And Denial.
Ararat movie 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.
Ararat is a 2002 Canadian-French historical-drama film written and directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Charles Aznavour, Christopher Plummer, David Alpay, Arsinée Khanjian, Eric Bogosian, Bruce Greenwood and Elias Koteas. It is about a family and film crew in Toronto working on a film based loosely on the 1915 defense of Van during the Armenian Genocide.
In addition to exploring the human impact of that specific historical event, Ararat examines the nature of truth and its representation through art. The Genocide is disputed by the Government of Turkey, an issue that partially inspired and is explored in the film. The film was featured out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. It won five awards at the 23rd Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture.
About the Story
In Toronto, an Armenian Canadian family is headed by Ani, a widow whose husband attempted to assassinate a Turkish ambassador. Her adult son Raffi is involved in a sexual affair with Celia, who has accused Ani of pushing her father off of a cliff, while Ani insists he slipped and fell. Ani gives art history presentations on Armenian American painter Arshile Gorky, with Celia constantly attending and publicly heckling Ani about concealing the truth.
An Armenian film director, Edward Saroyan, arrives to Toronto with a goal to make a film about the Armenian Genocide and Gorky. Ani is hired as a historical consultant, with Raffi working on the project with his mother. A Turkish Canadian aspiring actor named Ali receives his big break when cast as Ottoman governor Jevdet Bey.
Ali reads on the history of the genocide, which he had never heard much of before, and offends Raffi when he tells Saroyan that he believes the Ottomans felt the genocide was defensive, in light of World War I. Raffi attempts to explain to Ali that the Armenians were citizens of the Ottoman Empire and that the Turks were not at war with them. Ali shrugs the encounter off, saying they were both born in Canada and the incident is forgotten.
After Raffi returns to Canada from a flight to Turkey, he is interrogated at airport security by a retiring customs official named David, who has reason to believe Raffi is involved in a plot to smuggle drugs. Rather than employ drug-sniffing dogs, David speaks to Raffi at length, with Raffi claiming he had taken it upon himself to shoot extra footage in Turkey. In fact, the film is premiering that night. Inspired by his own son, David chooses to believe Raffi is innocent, without checking the film canisters which may contain the drugs.
Ararat (2002)
Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Charles Aznavour, Brent Carver, Eric Bogosian, Arsinée Khanjian, Setta Keshishian, Christopher Plummer, David Alpay, Shant Srabian, Elias Koteas
Screenplay by: Atom Egoyan
Production Design by: Phillip Barker
Cinematography by: Paul Sarossy
Film Editing by: Susan Shipton
Costume Design by: Beth Pasternak
Set Decoration by: Patricia Cuccia
Art Direction by: Kathleen Climie
Music by: Mychael Danna
MPAA Rating: R for violence, sexuality/nudity and language.
Distributed by: Miramax Films
Release Date: November 15, 2002
Views: 224
