The Promise (2017) [DVD]

In April of 1915, after the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Germans, the Ottoman government began to round up men, women and children of Armenian descent, and either forced them on long marches through the desert, where they would die of thirst or starvation, or outright killed them en masse. Between that time and (by some accounts) 1923, over 1.5 million Armenian Christians died, before the Ottoman empire finally fell. It was from this, as well as other mass killings taking place, that Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide in 1943 or 44. Despite the overwhelming evidence that exists, the Turkish government has never officially recognized the Armenian Genocide ever took place, and many around the world either deny it happened, or are not willing to call it a genocide.The Armenian Genocide serves as the backdrop for The Promise, the latest film from director Terry George (Hotel Rwanda). Beginning in 1914, the film tells the story of Mikael (Oscar Isaac), an apothecary living a small Armenian village, who dreams of becoming a doctor to better help his people. After being betrothed to marry, he uses the dowry from the arrangement to go to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) to pursuit a doctor’s degree. Living with family there, he meets a Paris-educated Armenian named Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), who’s in a relationship with Chris Myers (Christian Bale), a world-renowned American reporter. Despite both being committed to another, Mikael and Ana fall in love. But their relationship, and the world around them, are torn apart, as the Ottoman government, after joining the Great War, embark on a reign of terror to forcefully remove, and attempt to exterminate, the Armenian population within their borders. As the events tear them apart, all three must do their best to survive in a world gone mad, and get the message of what is going on to the world.What makes The Promise a truly powerful experience is that the cast and crew do a fine job of giving us a personal connection to the events of the Armenian Genocide through this film. Although the love triangle element of the film is one that has been overused by Hollywood, it works effectively for this film. By showing the personal lives of the people we follow, we develop that personal connection to the characters, so that when the tragic events unfold, we care about the lives of those people, and their families, as they go through the horrors we witness.What makes the love triangle element work is thanks in part to the great cast assembled. Oscar Isaac, best known to the world as Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, gives a powerful performance as Mikael. We see the torment he goes through as he suffers many tragedies over the course of the film. You feel every moment of his story, from his youthful exuberance at leaving home to embark on the journey to Constantinople, to his struggles with the death and destruction he faces. Isaac gives it his all in this film, and truly delivers a strong performance.Charlotte Le Bon is equally effective as Ana, the love interest of both Mikael and Chris. She shows both a sense of strength, and of weakness, as she fears losing those she cares about the most. Christian Bale, one of the best actors in the field right now, also gives a strong performance as Chris Myers. One of the things that makes the love triangle element different is that, unlike most occurrences, Chris does not come off as the “weak third wheel” of the trio. Although he has his flaws, he proves to be a good man in his own right, as he struggles to tell the world about what is transpiring in Turkey, while also trying to keep the woman he loves, as well as Mikael’s family, safe from the terrors. Bale is great as always.The supporting cast of the film, including Shohreh Aghdashloo, Tom Hollander, Jean Reno and James Cromwell, give great performances in the film, helping lift the story to a strong emotional resonance. Although the film has a few slower passages to it, those are mostly forgiven by strong work from the cast, and a moving score by composer Gabriel Yared. But the greatest strength of the film is that, while the main story is fictional, it works to humanize the story that serves as the backdrop. The filmmakers have striven to create a powerful film that shows what those people went through during that terrible period of history, and in that, they were successful.In closing, The Promise is an overall powerful film about a dark moment in world history, when the Armenian people faced extermination in their native land by the Ottoman Empire, and those who fought to survive, so that their stories would live on. The few weaknesses in the story are overcome by great performances, strong direction, and powerful scenes. This is a film that all people need to see, as a reminder of what transpired, and why we must never allow such atrocities to happen again.Grade: A-

Good production and visually interesting but too much love story. The main problem with the movie, however, is that the filmmakers took the easy, politically correct way out and avoided telling the whole story about the Muslim Turks and the slaughter of the Christian Armenians. The Muslim vs Christian issue was whitewashed. However, I do realize that the filmmakers were trying to avoid controversy so that the movie could be made and shown, which says something about the value of truth and courage in the time in which we live.

I saw this movie in the theater and was blown away with how well it was done. The actors were well chosen and very believable for their roles. This is another piece of history that few know about; the Turks trying to do away with the Armenians, otherwise known as the Armenian genocide. There is a wonderful love story thrown in the mix. This is a movie is a must see even if you don't like to be sad.

This is a must see movie. It has very important historical value. The events are completely true and have been toned down to be acceptable by the general public. All the world is now aware of the genocide committed by the Turks against the Armenians, yet they continue to deny it. The movie is beautifully filmed and very genuine. All survivors of the genocide see a bit of their experience in this movie. Don't miss this important movie.

I saw this movie more than once, and it is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. It had drama, romance, action and suspense. I will be ordering this movie on DVD when it comes out. I wasn't familiar with all the members of the cast, but they were all fabulous in their roles. After seeing this movie, Oscar Isaac has become my favorite actor.

Excellent film, great performances!! Read the book: "Not Even My Name", true story of woman who survived the genocide of the Armenians, fits perfectly with this film. Book is so well written. I lived in Turkey at ages 14 and 15 with my family, my father was a Colonel in the USAF working for NATO, 1956-58. I finally revisited the country in 2013 after visiting Israel for two weeks, it had been over 50 years since I had been there. Both the book I read several years ago and the movie, "The Promise" that I just watched on Amazon Prime, made a huge impact on me. I agree with the review written about this movie: all people need to see this film to make sure that no country ever lets this happen again to any human race!!!

A more 'modern' take on the genocide of Armenians during the first world war. It is a Hollywood film and therefore looses a lot of important details and adds something a bit unreal for that era, like the love triangle. However, purely for the courage to show and give a 'light' impression of the genocide the second half of the film is worthwhile watching. There is not enough publicity about the atrocities. The books '40 days of Musadagi' and 'Happiest People on Earth' are good to get deeper and better understanding of the circumstances, suffering and a few miraculous escapes.

This is a film that covers the Armenian genocide by the Turks during World War I.The very few sex scenes are kept discrete, with no naked tits or bums, which is a relief, but which could just as easily have been left out altogether to the benefit of the film as a whole. At the same time much more could have been made of the younger women (think Vera Brittan / Alicia Vikander in Testament of Youth, and Katniss Everdeen / Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games - the first film, not the subsequent ones, or even Johanna / Helena Zengel in News of the World) whilst at the same time skipping the improbable love triangle that is interwoven in what is actually the extremely serious business of (i) getting the story of the Armenian Genocide told, and (ii) the rescuing of a sizeable number of Armenians by the French, of all people.Whilst in no way condoning Turkish behaviour towards the Armenians, which was truly dreadful, there is a Turkish and German side to the story that this film doesn't really deal with. Arguably, with Russia a powerful enemy to the north and the French and British Empire Allies attacking the Turks from all the other points of the compass, the [Christian] Armenians were an internal security threat (imaginary or otherwise) to the [Moslem] Ottoman Empire that had to neutralised, albeit, I hasten to add, not in the manner undertaken in 1915. Furthermore, to their credit, prominent Germans in Turkey did tell the authorities in Berlin what their Turkish allies were up to and asked the Kaiser to intervene to stop it.In short, a just about better than OK film, that promises more than it delivers, and which is unlikely to be watched multiple times by anybody.

Completely captivated with this film. Wanted to see it at the cinema but was not shown at the local cinema. Bought the DVD and will lend it to friends. The massacre of the Armenians by the Turks needs to be brought to the fore and not forgotten!

Good movie; historical context of the Armenian genocide by the Ottomans makes it worthwhile.,However it rather shamefully glosses over the driving factor of the genocide: it was an Islamic Jihad against Christian Armenians.The Jihad has never stopped through the millennia, up to this day.

It must have three decades ago that I watched a documentary on the core subject of this superbly crafted movie. The lead cast are excellent, and the story, based around generally true events, will shock and bring about some insight into a piece of almost forgotten but vitally important history. Really worth a watch.