MovieFreak.com - Ararat DVD Review

Starring: David Alpay, Christopher Plummer, Arsinée Khanjian, Marie-Josée Croze, Bruce Greenwood

Ararat is about a tragic historical event, a country in denial and a people yearning for the truth! For the estranged members of a contemporary family, the tangled relationships of their present are only complicated by their catastrophic past. And what begins as a search for clues becomes a determined quest for answers across a vast and ancient terrain of deception, denial, fact and fears. This motion picture explores the pursuit of identity through the intimate moments shared by lovers, families, enemies and strangers.

Ararat is a film within a film. Directed by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter), Ararat follows a set of characters as they each engage in an emotional journey, crossing paths with each other by fate and or by choice. The film within Ararat recounts an almost forgotten and tragic event in history, the massacre and subsequent genocide of the Armenians in the year 1915. Close to 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered back then, but the event is largely unknown in today’s times. Atom Egoyan’s film educates the viewer about this horrific event and what came before it, such as fierce battles.

Moreover, Ararat is certainly not the film to define the event in history despite its educational value. It’s merely a study guide, enclosed with bits and pieces of information, reproduced in the film via flashbacks and voice-overs. The structure of the script incorporates so many flashbacks, through different styles and at many stages, that the order of the film becomes convoluted. Basically, Ararat is so far from telling its story in a linear way that sometimes the film gets a little confusing or hard to follow.

Additionally, as a writer Egoyan fails to bring dramatic tension to the subject. The characters in the film are well-drawn to some extent, and the actors portraying them do a very good job. I think at one point in the film the whole story revolves around two characters at an airport, played by Christopher Plummer and David Alpay. Plummer and Alpay share some interesting scenes, with some great dialogue and a little tension. However, during these scenes, Alpay’s character narrates the flashbacks, usually involving different storylines and characters. Well, it’s up to the viewer to try and understand the film’s structure, but just know what you read here is just me trying to explain the film. The actual viewing experience might be less confusing than I’m describing.

Despite an unusual and at times confusing structure, Ararat remains a very decent drama. Atom Egoyan’s ear for dialogue and character interaction is a plus as the film is in good hands with all the actors involved. On the other hand, the script appears to be packing so much information I’d rather not get into any details and cause additional confusion to the reader.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Ararat overall. It’s both educational and benefits from some pretty good acting. It’s a good reference guide and performs decent in its genre. However, the educational factor about the genocide wants desperately to be the center of the film, but it doesn’t work as intended. Sadly, there is not much emotion coming from scenes depicting the life and times of the Armenian people.

Buena Vista presents Ararat in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The film’s color palette is bright and colorful when need be, although some scenes appear to be artistically subdued in color. Color detail looks fine. Compression artifacts do not appear and most of the print image looks clean. Yet there are areas where specks appear on the print. Dark tones and black levels are kind of inconsistent. Also, grain appears in most of the dark scenes. On a positive note, there are no lines or scratches visible. Buena Vista’s overall video presentation looks very decent and accurate. You can select to view the film with optional English subtitles.

Buena Vista presents Ararat in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Dialog scenes are clear and easy to understand. Mychael Danna’s film score sounds wonderful and mostly all over the soundfield, which creates a soothing atmosphere. There are not many sound effects to speak of, and most of the ambient sounds that exist are simply too quiet. The soundtrack concentrates mostly on the front speakers, but surround usage is evident during some pivotal scenes, like the recreation of the mountain battle and the soldiers slaughtering groups of Armenian people. These scenes are particularly well-suited for surround sound and create a fine sound experience.

You can also choose to view the film in English DTS 5.1, which by comparison is stronger and more effective in terms or producing a fine sound experience. Also included is an English Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack.

Commentary by Atom Egoyan – He provides an in-depth and scene-specific commentary, pointing out symbols and themes as the film moves along. He engages in some interesting background information and talks about the production as well. Basically, he keeps a good conversation going for two hours. It’s a fairly conversational track and anyone remotely interested in the film or its subject matter should give this commentary a listen.

8 Deleted Scenes (18 mins) – These are comprised of deleted subplots, some of which add more depth to the characters. One scene, the confrontation between Celia and Raffi’s mother, is actually an extended version. Since these eight scenes amass to a whopping 18 minutes, it’s good to not have them here and not in the film. A “play all” function is included as well as optional commentary by Atom Egoyan.

“Making of Ararat” Featurette (29 mins) – This is not your average behind-the-scenes featurette or documentary as this one appears to be edited differently. There seems to be no overall structure here as interviews, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage are simply edited together. The interviews are concluded with members of the cast and crew (costume designer, cinematographer, composer, producer, etc). Overall, this making-of documentary offers a good insight into the “emotional journey” of the production.

Raffi’s Video Footage (9 mins) – Narrated by Hrair Hawk Khatcherian and composed to Mychael Danna’s film score, the footage was photographed in 2000 and includes shots of churches, Mount Ararat, and the Island of Achtamar. There’s some beautiful scenery here and Khatcherian’s narration is both helpful and informative. This is interesting stuff.

“Arsinée Khanjian on Ararat” Featurette (2 mins) – This is an interview segment with the actress and wife of Atom Egoyan as she recounts her emotional experience from the set.

Film Short “Portrait of Arshile” (5 mins) – This film short was created for a project based on the painting Portrait of the Artist and His Mother and features Atom Egoyan’s then five year-old son Arshile as the focus point. Egoyan provides optional commentary.

Interviews (10 mins) – These interviews are comprised into bits and pieces with white title cards identifying the interview subject and question. Participants are Atom Egoyan, David Alpay (Raffi), Bruce Greenwood (Clarence Ussher/Martin), Eric Bogosian (Rouben), Christopher Plummer (David), Charles Aznavour (Edward), Marie-Josee Croze (Celia), and Robert Lantos (producer). Some good stuff here, but not really. I mean, how many times do you need to know “how it was to work with Atom Egoyan?”

Rounding out the extras is text-based historical information (running text), the film’s Theatrical Trailer, and DVD-ROM links (additional info on the Genocide is offered).

The DVD’s menus are interactive, but not animated. On a side note, the music playing over the menus on disc 2 gets a little annoying over time. The 115-minute feature is organized into eighteen chapters.

Some very good performances and well-drawn characters give life to Ararat, but there is hardly any emotion when Atom Egoyan uses flashbacks to tell of the Armenian genocide. The event is merely a backdrop, and works just decent as such, although it seems it doesn’t want to be in that position. The video/audio quality is generally pretty decent. The assortment of special features are numerous and quite splendid quality-wise. Ararat is a recommended rental.

THE MOVIE	7
THE VIDEO	8
THE AUDIO	8
THE EXTRAS	8
OVERALL (not an average)	7