Ararat

Movie Information

In Brief: Atom Egoyan's much misunderstood Ararat, which deals with the Turkish government's 1915 genocide of its Armenian population, is heady stuff. It's also heavily layered and told in an unusual manner, presenting the story from the perspective of an Armenian filmmaker, and linking past and present so that the characters cross storylines. It is, however, rewarding if you're willing to accept its structural challenges.
Score:

Genre: Drama
Director: Atom Egoyan
Starring: David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, Eric Bogosian, Brent Carver, Christopher Plummer
Rated: R

When Ararat played here six years ago, I wrote in part: “Atom Egoyan’s 2002 film, Ararat, met with very mixed reviews and a less-than-enthusiastic push by its distributors, Miramax. The film didn’t play in Asheville, which was understandable to some degree—not so much because the topic of the film is a volatile one, but because the film is so heavily layered in its construction and in the themes it explores that it can be viewed as needlessly convoluted and too deliberately difficult. In fact, a number of reviewers found it to be so. Frankly, I think Ararat verges on the brilliant and is a much more interesting work than Egoyan’s admirable but over-praised The Sweet Hereafter.” For the full review go here: http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/ararat.php

Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Ararat at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library).  Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com

 

SHARE
About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.