ARARAT
He who remembers — a profound history drama for discerning adults.
Should You Watch It?
ARARAT is a superb, profound film about the Armenian Genocide, a historical atrocity that began in the Turkish Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1915, and resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million people. Its complex structure brings together artists, family members, a customs agent, his son, and a Turkish actor in a movie-within-the-movie.
The film gives this history serious moral weight. It remembers persecution, grief, faith, and the burden of telling the truth. Its wartime violence, rape, and abuse serve the historical subject, but a needless, prolonged sex scene between Raffi and Celia makes the film harder to recommend. The review also warns that the movie is intended to agitate viewers and may inflame passions rather than quench them.
Adults who can confront severe content and difficult history should see it. Families with children or young teens should choose something else.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESA young man named Raffi tries to understand his family’s past while navigating conflict with his mother and his stepsister, Celia. At the same time, a filmmaker works to tell the story of the Armenian Genocide, drawing together historical memory, family wounds, and the life of the Armenian painter Arshille Gorky.
A Canadian customs agent, his son, and the son’s Turkish lover become connected to the production. Their stories converge through the film being made about the past.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is a superb, profound film whose complexity works as a whole. Atom Egoyan’s direction balances several storylines and brings them together through the movie within the movie.
The dialogue helps hold the many strands together. David Alpay gives Raffi incredible range and intensity. Arsinée Khanjian, Charles Aznavour, Simon Abkarian, Christopher Plummer, and Elias Koteas also deliver performances marked by intensity, brilliance, passion, or deep understanding, according to the source review.
The Worldview
ARARAT presents an overt Christian worldview around the Armenian Genocide. It remembers the slaughter of Christian Armenians, includes the last few lines of the Lord’s Prayer, and uses crosses, religious art, and religious artifacts. It also carries many moral messages and asks what it means to preserve painful history.
The film’s moral center is remembrance. It honors the duty to tell the truth about persecution and the suffering of innocent people. It also presents the idea that people must atone for past sins. At the same time, its anti-homosexual subplot is part of the film’s moral framework, and its references to a father’s ghost leave open whether the figure is supernatural or simply a symbol of memory.
The film’s portrayal of Turkish Muslims and its treatment of retaliation are deliberately confrontational. The source says several Turkish and Arab reporters, along with many sympathizers, were insulted by the movie, and warns that its agenda may inflame passions rather than quench them. Christians should respond not with arms, retaliation, or revenge, but by spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Remembering the suffering of the past can be an act of responsibility. Scripture says, “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD” (Psalm 78:4).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Overt Christian worldview about the Armenian holocaust where Turkish Muslims slaughtered 1.5 million Christian Armenians in 1915, with the last few lines of Lord’s Prayer, many crosses and religious art and artifacts, a lot of moral messages, and an anti-homosexual subplot, as well as references to luck and to father’s ghost which could refer to memory not poltergeists; 5 obscenities and 3 profanities; wartime violence including bombs exploding, people losing limbs, people shot, people beaten, and women raped; unnecessary blatant adolescent fornication scene, and women abused and raped in war; upper female nudity in sex scene and women stripped and forced to dance naked by Turkish soldiers; alcohol; smoking and pot use; and, lying to customs officer.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
What does it mean to remember suffering truthfully, and how can telling the truth serve future generations?
Psalm 78:4 · Ephesians 4:25The film connects remembrance with atonement. What is the difference between admitting guilt, seeking forgiveness, and taking revenge?
2 Corinthians 7:10 · Romans 12:19How should Christians respond when a story of persecution inflames anger? What does Jesus call His followers to do instead?
Matthew 5:44 · Romans 12:21What responsibilities do artists and families have when telling painful history?
Proverbs 31:8–9 · James 3:1The Final Word
ARARAT is superb, profound, and important for adults willing to face its painful history. Its explicit sex scene, severe wartime violence, and confrontational approach make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For family viewing, consider.
