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Ararat

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Ararat (2002)

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57 %
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Reviews Counted: 74

Fresh: 42

Rotten:32

Average Rating: 6.4/10

Consensus: Though Ararat radiates intelligence, its impact is diminished by an overly intricate plot and cerebral style.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, sexuality/nudity and language

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 15, 2002 Limited

Box Office: $1,378,159

Synopsis: ARARAT, Atom Egoyan's mysterious drama about the horrors of the largely unknown Armenian genocide in Turkey, unrolls through a film within the film (also titled ARARAT). Jumping back and forth in... ARARAT, Atom Egoyan's mysterious drama about the horrors of the largely unknown Armenian genocide in Turkey, unrolls through a film within the film (also titled ARARAT). Jumping back and forth in time, Egoyan weaves together the lives of several people. Ari (Arsinee Khanjian), an art historian, is an advisor on the film. Her son Raffi (David Alplay) is part of the film crew. When Raffi travels to Armenia to gather some additional footage, he is detained by a customs agent (Christopher Plummer) and remains in custody for most of the film. Meanwhile, Raffi's stepsister and girlfriend Celia (Marie-Josee Croze) is haunted by her father's suicide. These and other stories within ARARAT are ostensibly linked through the film within a film. Yet, it is each character's quest for truth which binds them thematically and drives the plot. The film is populated with thematic twins, as each character's individual struggle is mirrored in the plight of the other characters. Egoyan works from his own script relying heavily on references to Arshile Gorky's painting "The Artist and his Mother" and Clarence Ussher's historical document, AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN IN TURKEY. [More]

Starring: David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, Eric Bogosian, Brent Carver

Starring: David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, Eric Bogosian, Brent Carver, Marie-Josee Croze, Bruce Greenwood, Arsinee Khanjian, Christopher Plummer

Director: Atom Egoyan

Director: Atom Egoyan
Screenwriter: Atom Egoyan
Producer: Robert Lantos, Atom Egoyan
Studio: Miramax Films

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Release:

Jul 22, 2003

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Ararat
  • From the Academy Award(R)-nominated director Atom Egoyan (Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, THE SWEET HEREAFTER, 1997; EXOTICA, FELICIA'S JOURNEY), and featuring an all-star cast, ARARAT is the acclaimed cinematic masterpiece about a tragic historical event, a country in denial, and a people yearning for the truth. For the estranged members of a contemporary family, the tangled relationships of their present are only complicated by their catastrophic past. And what begins as a search for clues becomes a determined quest for answers across a vast and ancient terrain of deception, denial, fact, and fears. This stunning and passionate motion picture explores the pursuit of identity through the intimate moments shared by lovers, families, enemies, and strangers.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Ararat

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    Verges on the brilliant and is a much more interesting work than Egoyan's admirable but over-praised The Sweet Hereafter.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
    04/19/06
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    09/26/05
    Ann Hornaday
    Washington Post
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Houston Chronicle
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
    02/21/04
    Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
    02/01/04
    FilmStew.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    09/27/03
    Empire Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [Egoyan is] so careful telling the story of the genocide that much of the film feels cold and didactic, like watching a slide show in a lecture hall.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
    09/07/03
    Josh Bell
    Las Vegas Weekly

    One of Egoyan's great pics that in time will grow in stature.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    07/22/03
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Although not an easy film to follow, I found 'Ararat' worthy of close attention.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    07/13/03
    Betty Jo Tucker
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    The movie's flaws ring of underconfidence, as if Egoyan intellectualised its parts until he ended up draining them of power.

    Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
    07/06/03
    Ian Waldron-Mantgani
    UK Critic
    N/R

    El resultado es muy superior a lo que el cine comercial suele hacer cuando intenta reconstruir un hecho histórico; pero al mismo tiempo luce bastante menos logrado que la obra anterior de Egoyan.

    Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
    06/25/03
    Enrique Buchichio
    Uruguay Total
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
    05/04/03
    Sight and Sound
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
    04/21/03
    FilmFour.com
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    04/20/03
    Guardian [UK]
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's not easy to shake or dismiss.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    04/04/03
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    Exploring the fluid nature of history ... [is] a fascinating conceit, but one Egoyan has trouble executing.

    Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
    04/04/03
    Sean Means
    Salt Lake Tribune

    There's no doubting that this is a highly ambitious and personal project for Egoyan, but it's also one that, next to his best work, feels clumsy and convoluted.

    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    03/19/03
    Tom Dawson
    BBC
     
     
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    Latest News for Ararat

    September 07, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: Where the Truth Lies
    From Atom Egoyan, director of "Exotica," "The Sweet Hereafter," and "Ararat," comes Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, and Alison Lohman in the already... More...

    August 22, 2005: Egoyan's "Truth" May Lie with an NC-17
    ThinkFilm, distributor of the new Atom Egoyan film "Where the Truth Lies," plans to appeal what they believe will be an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, says The Hollywood... More...

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