The Promise

Well, screw those who would destroy History because truth hurts their feelings. The Armenian genocide happened, and whoever tries to censor this film will do so in vain, or so I hope.

The movie is good, in general Oscar Isaac doesn't disappoint, and Le Bon adorably shines. That said, the crude, sad part is hard enough to watch, especially when you consider what's been shown is a mild version of what happened.

It's a good movie, even though a ten is too much, I have to over-vote it to compensate for those who willingly down-vote in order to bury the truth in the sand. Worth to get to know what happened, if only because many wouldn't want you to.

I saw this movie at the Sonoma International Film Festival, and although I felt like it could have been edited tighter, it was an amazing story that I'm glad that I experienced. The acting was great, the period costumes and sets were flawless, and the story that it told was heartbreaking and needed to be told. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house (my wife and I certainly cried).

Should be required viewing in every high school Social Studies class to show the dangers of alternative facts and disputed leadership and the necessity of individual moral fortitude. History forgotten is history repeated. Every viewer will be forced to examine what they would be willing to sacrifice, what actions would they take, what can or can't they live with? While the romance is beautiful and an obvious audience draw, it is the beautiful photography and the Oscar caliber acting by Oscar Issac earning my score. How sad is it no studio would touch this subject requiring the private funding of an Armenian billionaire?

...but that still hasn't been done justice. "The promise" is slightly better than its predecessor of the same theme, "Ararat". The scenery and settings, specifically of pre-War Constantinople are in fact, breathtaking (if not a bit fanciful). The story is entirely linear and unfortunately falls into trap of turning into a "refugee" movie, similar to "Beyond Rangoon", or the much more masterful "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness"; where the protagonist enjoys a wonderful life until civil conflict forces them and a group of refugees to have to escape somewhere. I think the worst part about "The Promise" is the historical revisionism; The American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (played by James Cromwell) was indeed Jewish, but absolutely no "Schindler", in that he did absolutely NOTHING to save Armenians...not a single one. So, the movie has to invent a fictitious American journalist (played by Christian Bale) so Ambassador Morganthau can "save" him, somehow redeeming his role in the genocide, when the reality was Morganthau was the one who sat around and documented what was happening from accounts flooding his office while doing nothing. Yet, once again, it is a story that needs to be told, so I'm keeping that in consideration in my rating.

It's a shame that this film's IMDb page has effectively been hijacked by trolls because it covers a politically sensitive topic. Over 90% of all voters have either given it 1 or 10 stars, clearly attempting to sway the rating one way or another without actually watching the film and judging it on merit. 'The Promise' doesn't actually focus on the Armenian genocide itself, rather it is set during the final years of the Ottoman Empire and centers for the most part on a developing love triangle involving the main character.

Looking at this film objectively and without joining the many others in disputing its historical accuracy, I thought 'The Promise' was an impressive and well-made drama film. The plot is engaging and well-constructed and is effective in balancing the telling of historical events with an emerging romance. It also looks great - the production and cinematography is excellent and it features some stunning scenery. Unfortunately the genuine ratings and reviews for this film have been drowned out by so many one-line one-star fake reviews.