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7 BODYGUARDS ACCOMPANY TURKISH FILMMAKER AT MOVIE PREMIERE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
11:10, 4 December, 2014
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. The premiere of the movie by the
German film director of Turkish origin Fatih Akin titled "The Cut"
was held in Turkey. As reports "Armenpress" citing the Turkish Radikal
periodical, Fatih Akin was accompanied by seven bodyguards at the
premiere of the movie and the following evening. The premiere of the
movie with total budget of USD 20 million was attended by a number
of celebrities. Prominent Armenian photographer from Constantinople
Ara Guler was also present at the event.
The story offers a window onto the Armenian genocide which started in
1915 and led to the death of 1.5 Million Armenians and consequently
their displacement across the world.
The story follows Nazaret Manoogian, an Armenian blacksmith played by
Tahar Rahim, who is separated from his family when he is forced into
labor for the Ottoman Empire. He survives the mass killings but loses
his ability to speak and begins to search for his family members who he
learns were on a death march. When he finds out that his daughters are
alive, he resumes his journey searching for his daughters once again.
The film follows the same lines as Akin's previous films, Head On
(2004) and Edge of Heaven (2007), but this time the characters are
simpler, the motives more obvious, and destiny less harsh. In a sense,
the tension is more watered down. Compared to his similar previous
work, this picture has less suspense, perhaps replaced by atrocities
casually mentioned in passing as we follow Nazaret.
As we follow the journey, and witness the atrocities, we are speechless
just like Nazaret who lost his ability to speak, as though he is also
simply just watching like us as the tragedy unfolds. In light of all
he has experienced, Nazaret loses love, and proceeds to throw rocks
up into heaven, angry at a God who was also silent in the face of
such atrocities. Silence is an ongoing theme throughout, and one of
the most moving scenes is as Nazaret watches Charlie Chaplain's The
Kid, a silent movie, which moves him to tears. It is as though even
despite the silence, the motion alone can move you.
The epic journey of Nazaret takes us through different lands and
landscapes. The film captures the alienating deserts of Turkey as
well as the populated but elegantly architected Cuba. The film visits
various parts of Asia and the Americas. It is a big production and
shows Akin's craftsmanship.
Akin depicts soldiers as systematic criminals, and Nazaret found
friendships in those considered by society as criminals and deserters.
Oddly, Nazaret is not able to make friendships he has made wherever
he has travelled with Americans, only with Armenians living in America.
We catch a glimpse of what genocide means when Armenians are asked
to face the wall and kneel. The commanding officer then says,
"don't waste bullets," as his subordinates proceed immediately with
simultaneous cutting their throats. But perhaps what stands out most
is that there is something worse than the killings captured by The
Cut. It is the ugliness of the world and witnessing it and being
unable to do anything to stop the evil.
Armenians weren't just slaughtered; they were chased, starved, raped
and sold as property. The film depicts instances of these atrocities,
for example, we watch a death march passing before a labor camp,
and bandits target and rape a woman in front of the laborers and
soldiers, and soldiers protected the bandits from the laborers who
thought of stopping the rape. We are taken to a camp after a death
march where people are begging to die to end their misery. It is
in these atrocious details that we can see what a genocide means,
not as whole but to an individual who has to deal with the aftermath.
Yet with all that comes the story of survival in the face of all the
ugliness in the world, the survival through a dream, and the love of
a father for his daughters. Survival through finding friendships in
the least expected places. The Cut is not primarily about the killing
of Armenians during the genocide, but rather their survival after. It
is a tale about one man's journey and his search for a home having
been deprived of one.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/786475/7-bodyguards-accompany-turkish-filmmaker-at-movie-premiere-on-armenian-genocide.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
11:10, 4 December, 2014
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. The premiere of the movie by the
German film director of Turkish origin Fatih Akin titled "The Cut"
was held in Turkey. As reports "Armenpress" citing the Turkish Radikal
periodical, Fatih Akin was accompanied by seven bodyguards at the
premiere of the movie and the following evening. The premiere of the
movie with total budget of USD 20 million was attended by a number
of celebrities. Prominent Armenian photographer from Constantinople
Ara Guler was also present at the event.
The story offers a window onto the Armenian genocide which started in
1915 and led to the death of 1.5 Million Armenians and consequently
their displacement across the world.
The story follows Nazaret Manoogian, an Armenian blacksmith played by
Tahar Rahim, who is separated from his family when he is forced into
labor for the Ottoman Empire. He survives the mass killings but loses
his ability to speak and begins to search for his family members who he
learns were on a death march. When he finds out that his daughters are
alive, he resumes his journey searching for his daughters once again.
The film follows the same lines as Akin's previous films, Head On
(2004) and Edge of Heaven (2007), but this time the characters are
simpler, the motives more obvious, and destiny less harsh. In a sense,
the tension is more watered down. Compared to his similar previous
work, this picture has less suspense, perhaps replaced by atrocities
casually mentioned in passing as we follow Nazaret.
As we follow the journey, and witness the atrocities, we are speechless
just like Nazaret who lost his ability to speak, as though he is also
simply just watching like us as the tragedy unfolds. In light of all
he has experienced, Nazaret loses love, and proceeds to throw rocks
up into heaven, angry at a God who was also silent in the face of
such atrocities. Silence is an ongoing theme throughout, and one of
the most moving scenes is as Nazaret watches Charlie Chaplain's The
Kid, a silent movie, which moves him to tears. It is as though even
despite the silence, the motion alone can move you.
The epic journey of Nazaret takes us through different lands and
landscapes. The film captures the alienating deserts of Turkey as
well as the populated but elegantly architected Cuba. The film visits
various parts of Asia and the Americas. It is a big production and
shows Akin's craftsmanship.
Akin depicts soldiers as systematic criminals, and Nazaret found
friendships in those considered by society as criminals and deserters.
Oddly, Nazaret is not able to make friendships he has made wherever
he has travelled with Americans, only with Armenians living in America.
We catch a glimpse of what genocide means when Armenians are asked
to face the wall and kneel. The commanding officer then says,
"don't waste bullets," as his subordinates proceed immediately with
simultaneous cutting their throats. But perhaps what stands out most
is that there is something worse than the killings captured by The
Cut. It is the ugliness of the world and witnessing it and being
unable to do anything to stop the evil.
Armenians weren't just slaughtered; they were chased, starved, raped
and sold as property. The film depicts instances of these atrocities,
for example, we watch a death march passing before a labor camp,
and bandits target and rape a woman in front of the laborers and
soldiers, and soldiers protected the bandits from the laborers who
thought of stopping the rape. We are taken to a camp after a death
march where people are begging to die to end their misery. It is
in these atrocious details that we can see what a genocide means,
not as whole but to an individual who has to deal with the aftermath.
Yet with all that comes the story of survival in the face of all the
ugliness in the world, the survival through a dream, and the love of
a father for his daughters. Survival through finding friendships in
the least expected places. The Cut is not primarily about the killing
of Armenians during the genocide, but rather their survival after. It
is a tale about one man's journey and his search for a home having
been deprived of one.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/786475/7-bodyguards-accompany-turkish-filmmaker-at-movie-premiere-on-armenian-genocide.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress