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Ararat

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Ararat (2002)

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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own script relying heavily on references to Arshile Gorky's painting "The Artist and his Mother" and Clarence Ussher's historical document, AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN IN TURKEY.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 fresh rating)
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    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

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

    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
    Betty Jo Tucker
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    A beautiful and essential experience.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
    11/15/02
    Bob Strauss
    Bob Strauss
    Los Angeles Daily News

    Even as a flawed and self-indulgent film, it’s thought-provoking, intelligent and well worth seeing.

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    11/22/02
    Brian Webster
    Brian Webster
    Apollo Guide

    Egoyan boldly inspires viewers to deal with issues of cultural memory and responsibility, especially in moments of confusion when family issues intersect with monumental historical facts.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    11/15/02
    Bruce Kirkland
    Bruce Kirkland
    Jam! Movies

    Impassioned performances and direction make this a riveting recreation of a reprehensible period neglected by historians.

    Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
    02/21/03
    Bryan Reesman
    Bryan Reesman
    Citysearch

    You have to pay attention to follow all the stories, but they're each interesting. The movie is well shot and very tragic, and one to ponder after the credits roll.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
    11/27/02
    Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
    Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
    TheMovieChicks.com

    You can quibble with excess characters and storylines, but the cumulative effect is strong and emotionally accurate.

    Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
    11/26/02
    Chris Vognar
    Chris Vognar
    Dallas Morning News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Atom Egoyan has conjured up a multilayered work that tackles any number of fascinating issues

    Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
    03/06/03
    D.K. Holm
    D.K. Holm
    DVDTalk.com

    There is a fabric of complex ideas here, and feelings that profoundly deepen them.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    A film that has many strengths, not the least of which is its towering ambition.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/08/02
    David Grove
    David Grove
    Film Threat

    [Atom Egoyan's] most personal [film] to date but it's also his most flawed.

    Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
    09/24/02
    David Nusair
    David Nusair
    Reel Film Reviews

    The director's customary narrative elisions and evasions have an unsettling mirror function here.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    11/12/02
    Dennis Lim
    Dennis Lim
    Village Voice
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Egoyan uses outrage and curiosity to craft an enigmatic and shifting act of memory, his impression of an event and its repercussions.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    01/16/03
    Duane Dudek
    Duane Dudek
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    A complex, ambitious film...one can't help but admire the film's reach, even when the goal exceeds Egoyan's grasp.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    11/25/02
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    A compelling and thought-provoking drama on the Armenian genocide after World War I and its toxic impact on the spirits and lives of some contemporary Canadians.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    11/15/02
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    A pertinent powerfully intelligent account of the morality of making history.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    11/15/02
    Geoff Pevere
    Geoff Pevere
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The resulting project matters much and should be seen, but how much it'll be felt depends on your specific level of patience for a director who presumes audience comprehension to be at about a fourth-grade level.

    Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
    01/08/03
    Gregory Weinkauf
    Gregory Weinkauf
    New Times
     
     
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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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