GAintablian

Absolutely disappointing!! Unfortunately again the Armenians have failed in achieving on the cinematic ground. Everything is bad in this movie, from acting to script to cinematography. Mexican soap operas are shot way better these days. You, the filmmakers of this movie, haven't seen any MOVIES in your lives??!! That's not the way you leave the camera fixed on shots. The actors are horribly artificial!! That's not the way people talk!! The script is banal and the dialogue is repulsively awful. The music is irrelevant and emotionally insipid. How can you present such a terrible movie in film festivals?? Aren't you ashamed of what others may think?!! Where are you Egoyan?!!! Why the Armenians refuse to learn from their Masters??!! Such nightmarishly inept movies should be artistically checked by professionals before getting released. What a SHAME!! Filmmaking is not Barbecuing!!!

Chaldranyan has succeeded in uplifting Armenian cinema, which has terribly deteriorated during the 90's, to world class level. Marco Ferreri's influence is highly palpable. Official Academy Award submission of Armenia for Best Foreign Film. The film itself is a self-redemption of Armenian cinema, which has always been absent from all major international film festival scenes, along with the prevailing situation in current Armenian history, either political or socio-economical. An open invitation and an outburst call to all the dormant Armenian souls around the world to wake up and rejuvenate through catharsis for a brighter cinematic future. He that hath an ear, let him hear.

This excellent film exactly reflects what was going on during the Civil War in Lebanon. You feel it more if you have lived that period in Beirut. Such films raise the standard of film making in Lebanon, and there is no need for it to be banned. Actually this film was shown only once in its complete version during 1999's Beirut Film Festival, and I had the honor of seeing it there in the presence of its director Randa Chahal Sabagh, some of its actors, and music composer Ziad Rahbani. It was never released theatrically until this date in Beirut. I consider this film in the same standard as late director Maroun Baghdadi's films. Bravo Randa for portraying the exact reality!