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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own script relying heavily on references to Arshile Gorky's painting "The Artist and his Mother" and Clarence Ussher's historical document, AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN IN TURKEY.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 rotten rating)
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    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
    02/01/04
    FilmStew.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    11/30/02
    Boston Phoenix
    N/R

    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    04/20/03
    Guardian [UK]
    N/R

    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
    12/01/02
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Nitrate Online
    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
    Enrique Buchichio
    Uruguay Total
    N/R

    Click to read the article

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

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
    10/24/02
    Rich Cline
    Rich Cline
    Shadows on the Wall
    N/R

    Click to read the article

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

    This movie's heart is in the right place. Too bad the rest of it is all over the place.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    11/15/02
    E! Online

    Too timid to bring a sense of closure to an ugly chapter of the twentieth century.

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    09/06/02
    Bill Chambers
    Bill Chambers
    Film Freak Central

    A puzzle whose pieces do not fit. Some are fascinating and others are not, and in the end, it is almost a good movie.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    11/27/02
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    Egoyan is so intent on Exposing The Truth About Armenia that his story structure suffers.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    11/09/02
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    Just about all of the film is confusing on one level or another, making Ararat far more demanding than it needs to be.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    10/26/02
    Daniel Eagan
    Daniel Eagan
    Film Journal International

    This is the first narrative Armenian genocide movie in North America that I know of… and it’s still trying way, way, way too hard. Sadly, the point of being laughable as often as not.

    Full Review Source: Hot Button | comment Comment
    09/20/02
    David Poland
    David Poland
    Hot Button

    In a strange way, Egoyan has done too much. He's worked too hard on this movie.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    11/27/02
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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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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