The Promise (2016 film)

For the documentary, see The Promise (2016 German film).
The Promise
Directed by Terry George
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Music by Gabriel Yared
Cinematography Javier Aguirresarobe
Edited by Steven Rosenblum
Release dates
Country
  • Spain
  • United States
Language English

The Promise is an upcoming historical drama directed by Terry George and starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, set in the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

Premise

A love triangle develops between an Armenian medical student Michael, an American journalist based in Paris named Christoper and an Armenian-born woman raised in France, Ana, during the final days of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.

Plot

Michael lives in a small Armenian village in historic Armenia, on the eastern part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and he promises himself to a rich village woman to get 400 gold coins as dowry. This allows him to travel to the city known then and now to Armenians by its historical name, Constantinople, to become a medical student where he befriends a son of a powerful general. Christopher (Christian Bale) is a reporter for the Associated Press and he brings along Ana, an Armenian woman raised in Paris. Michael falls in love with Ana. The Ottoman Empire starts to round up Armenians, initiating the Armenian Genocide. Michael is able to escape by avoiding enlistment in the army under a medical student exemption with the help of his friend. However, he is later sent to prison camps after trying to save his wealthy uncle who has been imprisoned. Michael escapes the camps, and makes it back to his village. He goes to the mountain cabin with his wife, where she soon becomes pregnant. However, due to the difficult pregnancy his wife is brought back to the village. Michael hears that Ana and Christopher (Associated Press Reporter) are in a nearby Red Cross facility and he goes there to help his family escape. While heading back to his village to help them escape, the Ottomans massacre his family and the whole village. His mother survives. Michael and Ana and a large group of refugees fight off the Ottoman army on a mountain and escape on the back side to the coast as the French Navy comes to their rescue.

Cast

Production

Filming began in Autumn 2015 in Portugal and the Canary Islands,[1] with the shooting scheduled to last until December.[2] Reshoots took place in New York in May and June 2016, ending in early June.[3]

Release

The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2016.[4] It has yet to receive a wide release.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 43%, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10.[5] On Metacritic the film has a score of 40 out of 100 score, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] After only 3 screenings, IMDB registered over 80,000 ratings for the movie, many of which being either 10/10 or 1/10, primarily from non-US users. This led many to believe the ratings are based on political reasons without having watched the movie.[7]

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 3 stars (out of 5) and called it an "often soapy but well-intentioned and extravagantly mounted epic."[8] Pietro A. Shakarian, writing for The Nation, gave a more favorable review: "The Promise captures the magnitude of this history in a way that no prior film on the genocide has done before. With its sweeping cinematography, powerful acting, and all-encompassing story, it is a truly epic work that effectively and humanely conveys the story of the tragedy."[9]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.