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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own script relying heavily on references to Arshile Gorky's painting "The Artist and his Mother" and Clarence Ussher's historical document, AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN IN TURKEY.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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    21 - 40 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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    Ararat feels like a book report

    Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
    03/19/03
    Marty Mapes
    Marty Mapes
    Movie Habit

    Egoyan's movie is too complicated to sustain involvement, and, if you'll excuse a little critical heresy, too intellectually ambitious.

    Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
    03/14/03
    Robert Denerstein
    Robert Denerstein
    Denver Rocky Mountain 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

    A haunted, bountiful film that demands patience -- and rewards it.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    03/04/03
    Jim Lane
    Jim Lane
    Sacramento News & Review

    The work of an artist tormented by his heritage, using his storytelling ability to honor the many faceless victims.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
    02/28/03
    Joe Baltake
    Joe Baltake
    Sacramento Bee

    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

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
    02/17/03
    Stacie Hougland
    Stacie Hougland
    Hollywood.com

    Atom Egoyan may be our new Kubrick -- but his latest film's exploration of genocide and culture is the textbook definition of "ambitious failure."

    Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
    02/11/03
    James Rocchi
    James Rocchi
    Netflix

    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

    An impressive work in many regards -- the acting, the photography, the pace -- but it would've been even more so had Egoyan gone with his gut and been less indulgent of his brain.

    Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Shawn Levy
    Shawn Levy
    Oregonian

    Too much time is wasted showing how these people are joined, instead of what those connections mean and why these characters all belong in the same movie.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Phil Villarreal
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    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

    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

    Egoyan uses the inherent falseness of movies ... to achieve a truth his own.

    Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
    12/27/02
    Keith Uhlich
    Keith Uhlich
    ToxicUniverse.com

    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

    It's the type of stunt the Academy loves: a powerful political message stuffed into an otherwise mediocre film.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    12/02/02
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid
    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

    Click to read the article

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

    Egoyan is known for dense and sometimes inscrutable narratives, but here his abstruse sprawl seems deliberately evasive.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
    11/27/02
    Gary Thompson
    Gary Thompson
    Philadelphia Daily News

    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
     
     
    21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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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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