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Terry George, a writer and director from Belfast, is most comfortable in situations where there is conflict. Please accept my apologies for the unintentional play on words there. In collaboration with director Jim Sheridan, he created two of the most harrowing and memorable films about his homeland and its tortured history: 1993’s “In the Name of the Father” and 1997’s “The Boxer,” both of which starred Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role. Whenever he’s been in front of the camera himself, he hasn’t opted for rom-coms: his 1998 HBO film “A Bright Shining Lie” dealt with the Vietnam War from a specific military perspective, and his 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda” focused on a single man’s efforts to stop the Rwandan genocide. A larger point about societal ills was at the heart of George’s little-seen 2007 domestic tragedy “Reservation Road,” which was released in limited release.
George, co-writing with Robin Swicord, treats the Armenian genocide of the early twentieth century, an action undertaken by the soon-to-be-displaced Ottoman Empire as a side exercise in its alliance with Germany as World War I was about to break out, as a side exercise in its alliance with Germany. This action resulted in the deaths of well over a million people, a fact that the current Turkish government continues to deny. The recent film “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” which takes place during the same time period as this one and is produced in part by Turkish interests, contains several scenes in which there is a strong sense that whatever Armenians WERE killed had it coming to them. Furthermore, this film has been preemptively downvoted on IMDb by Armenian genocide deniers in the wake of the film’s release. One thing I appreciate about George is that when he takes on a subject, he does not flinch or back down from the truths he believes must be communicated. In spite of this, it’s difficult to deny that “The Promise” takes an inordinate amount of time to reach the heart of the story in some instances.
The story will be centered on a love triangle, as George and Swicord have chosen to do. After graduating from apothecary school in his home village in southern Turkey, young Mikael Boghosian betrothes himself to a beautiful young woman from a wealthy family in order to continue his education at the University of Constantine in Constantinople. He meets the beautiful Anna, an artist who happens to be Armenian, while staying at the house of a well-off relative with whom he’s staying. Anna is married to Chris Myers, a devout American journalist who also happens to be a hard-headed hard drinker in his own right. You can probably guess where this is going.
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In his role as Mikael, Oscar Isaac takes some time to get comfortable in his role, perhaps because there isn’t much of a role to get comfortable in for a while. He embodies goodness and sincerity in all of his endeavors. When Mikael meets a fellow student at the institute where he is enrolled, the fellow student inquires, “So you’ve already studied medicine?” Mikael responds, “Yes, it’s my passion,” and all of Isaac’s ingenuity can’t save the line from falling flat on its face. When he finally admits his feelings for Anna, he also reminds himself and her that he has already made a commitment to another woman. Anna, who is superbly portrayed by Charlotte Le Bon, is the one who ends up being the one who pushes the issue. The fact that Christian Bale’s performance as Chris has the most vigor and intelligence may be due, at least in part, to the fact that the troubled character himself possesses those characteristics in abundance. These three characters lose and find each other repeatedly as war destroys everything around them in each of the environments they travel to. As alliances are formed, trust is broken, and then history intervenes, these three characters are forced to confront their past.
The Promise Quiz
To begin with, Mikael is held captive in a prison camp, where he is eventually freed after a depiction of the horrors of hard labor is shown. A dramatic incident involving “weeping” dynamite provides the opportunity for his escape. He returns to his village, where he marries Maral, the young woman he had left behind; the couples’ families hide them in a mountain cabin, and Mikael grows to adore his bide, as well as the rest of his village. This film’s central theme of a good man who grows into a devoted husband while secretly falling in love with another from a distance is reminiscent of the film “Doctor Zhivago.” However, while Anna and Myers are putting up resistance to the Armenian “evacuations” at a Protestant Mission, the Turkish exterminators are on the rampage across the country.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this The Promise quiz.
As it happens, the film reaches its cinematic peak at a time when events are at their most dire. Despite the fact that “The Promise” is lavishly produced and replete with breathtaking shots of sunrises and sunsets, the film’s most powerful scenes are those of fleeing, battle, and horrifying loss. The portrayal of the savagery inflicted on Armenia is a breath of fresh air. George is determined to make his story about the dead as much a part of it as it is about fictional survivors. It is in this regard that “The Promise” is deserving of its unsettling reputation.
For more personality quizzes check this: Rock Dog Quiz.
