The Ottoman Lieutenant

Jeff Stockwell provided the screenplay and Joseph Ruben directed this slice of history from the early stages of WW I as it encroached on the Ottoman Empire, driving a split between the Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks as exacerbated by the inclusion of the Russian forces. It is a well-considered examination of the brutality of war, the collapse of both the Ottoman Empire and the decimation/genocide of the Armenians, and the role America played in the drama in providing a safe haven hospital in the midst of the battles. It is also a love story that deals with the same conflicts – religious differences, ancient customs, the then 'secondary role' of women, and the survival of contested love.

After her brother's death from tuberculosis, young nurse Lillie Rowe, a beautiful, strong- willed woman (Hera Hilmar), who, frustrated by ongoing injustice at home and her Philadelphia parents' prejudices (Paul Barrett, Jessica Turner), leaves the United States after meeting Jude Josh Hartnett), an American doctor who runs a remote medical mission within the Ottoman Empire - a world both exotic and dangerous, and on the brink of what is about to become the first World War. There, she works as a nurse, and finds her loyalty to Jude and the mission's founder Dr Woodruff (Ben Kingsley) tested when she falls in love with their perceived enemy, Ismail (Michiel Huisman), a lieutenant in the Ottoman Imperial Army. Now, with invading army forces at their doorstep, and the world about to plunge into all-out war, she must make a decision if she wants to be what other people want her to be, or to be herself.

The development of the story is well balanced as we see the brutality of the Turks slaughtering Armenians, the prejudices of Americans who fail to respect the value and stature of women endangering their lives to save wounded patients, the artificial barrier between Christians and Muslims in time of war and in the concept of love, and one of the reasons the story plays well is that instead of stereotypes portraying these misconceptions, the writer and director have instead placed those challenging differences in the characters of their story. In many ways this is a love story that addresses all the issues so rampant during WW I. For this viewer it works. Add the extraordinary photography by Daniel Aranyó and the musical score by Geoff Zanelli and the result is a memorable reenactment of a moment in history whose impact remains.

The way I see it this is the answer to the Armenian funded "The Promise". Both films have good and bad parts, it's obvious both do have a hidden political message. Both tried to fill the cast with some resounding names. Frankly it seems to me that this movie does not have the intensity generated by its nemesis The Promise. Cinematography is very good but it missing depth, long shots riding over the wheat fields too much repeated, some content empty scenes....well to me it's 5 stars!

In 1914, in Philadelphia, the wealthy and idealistic nurse Lillie Rowe (Hera Hilmar) learns in a lecture by Dr. Jude (Josh Hartnett) that there is an American medical mission founded by Dr. Garrett Woodruff (Ben Kingsley) in the countryside of the Ottoman Empire that needs donation. She decides to donate and deliver herself the truck that belonged to her deceased brother and medical supplies using her heritage. On the arrival, she stumbles upon the Ottoman Lieutenant Ismail Veli (Michiel Huisman) that helps her to visit a mosque. Lillie is forced by the government to be escorted by Lieutenant Ismail to drive to the mission and he is assigned to spy the local Armenians. Lillie works in the hospital and falls in love with Ismail while Jude suffers from unrequited love. Meanwhile the World War I begins and the mission is in the middle of the Ottoman Empire where the Russians are coming.

"The Ottoman Lieutenant" is a beautiful romance with a triangle of love in World War I. The cinematography is impressive; the direction is excellent; and the cast has great performances. The story could have used a less polemic and unpleasant background instead of the Armenian Genocide. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Amor em Tempos de Guerra" ("Love in Times of War")

Female lead has limited emotional range, and i don't quite see why an Icelandic actor with an accent was cast as an American. We have A LOT of American actresses with farbetter emotional range that could've served this movie well.

I really wanted to love this movie completely. For me, half the actors were phenomenal and half were not. Michiel Huisman was absolutely phenomenal in the role of The Ottoman Lieutenant. His passion shown through in the entire performance. I did not care for the lead actress Hera Hilmar in this role. She came across as dull, uninspired, unbelievable and with flat affect & tone to her voice and performance, in my opinion. I do not know her other work, but I was uninspired by her performance here. This should have been an extremely romantic and epic movie but Michiel should not have to carry it himself. In addition, I did like Ben Kingsley's role, but did not care for Josh Hartnett. If the lead actors had been evenly matched and evenly phenomenal then I would have rated this movie better.