In my down time, I have surfed the web looking at various stuff. One of the things I have been anxious to see is some sort of preview on Ararat. I went to the Miramax website and no luck. I searched some other sites, no luck. Finally, I've been able to track down a link to a 1 minute preview. Here it is http://www.commeaucinema.com/bandeannonces/ararat/qt/ararat.mov
It looks good and convincing. As a long time Egoyan fan, this movie should be interesting from several angles. Obviously the first movie made with a Genocide theme is monumental. But, I am also interested in how well the story is told. I think Egoyan slipped with Felicia's Journey. It wasn't so much his filmmaking as much it was the choice of how to end the movie. There was a lot to like about Exotica as well, but again the ending just didn't hit home for me. After several viewings of the Sweet Hereafter, I began to appreciate the little things that he is good at. My personal favorite Egoyan movie is the rarely seen "Family Viewing". "Next of Kin" is also up there as well. Those are my two favorite Egoyan films to date. Calendar comes in third with "Speaking Parts" fourth. Exotica, Sweet Hereafter, and Felicia's Journey round it out in order. There were some shorts of his that I especially have liked and only seen once at a film festival at the Harvard Film Archives in Cambridge several years back. The one on Montreal was my favorite along with the one about the father and son selling the house. I'd like to see Krapp's Last Tape soon. The one on Bach was fantastic. Don Mkellar is one of my favorite actors. See Last Night if you get a chance.
What I have noticed with films and music in general is that when given the absolute minimum of resources to work with, the better the idea or product. I have enjoyed every Egoyan movie on some level and I consider him as one of the great filmmakers of out time. He hasn't quite sold out and I like that. It's rare. However 'Ararat' turns out (I've heard it's quite good from my friends in Armenia that are film buffs and have a critical eye), Egoyan should be applauded and appreciated for what he has given us- a forum to exhale. I urge us all to drum up as much PR for this movie as possible and consider it a crusade to bring people from outside our community to see it.
As if we needed any more challenges, rumor has it that the Turkish lobby has enlisted to Jewish Diaspora in America to help use their influence in Hollywood to limit the number of theaters "Ararat" will be shown in. And we thought the Israeli silence on the Armenian Genocide was despicable...
It looks good and convincing. As a long time Egoyan fan, this movie should be interesting from several angles. Obviously the first movie made with a Genocide theme is monumental. But, I am also interested in how well the story is told. I think Egoyan slipped with Felicia's Journey. It wasn't so much his filmmaking as much it was the choice of how to end the movie. There was a lot to like about Exotica as well, but again the ending just didn't hit home for me. After several viewings of the Sweet Hereafter, I began to appreciate the little things that he is good at. My personal favorite Egoyan movie is the rarely seen "Family Viewing". "Next of Kin" is also up there as well. Those are my two favorite Egoyan films to date. Calendar comes in third with "Speaking Parts" fourth. Exotica, Sweet Hereafter, and Felicia's Journey round it out in order. There were some shorts of his that I especially have liked and only seen once at a film festival at the Harvard Film Archives in Cambridge several years back. The one on Montreal was my favorite along with the one about the father and son selling the house. I'd like to see Krapp's Last Tape soon. The one on Bach was fantastic. Don Mkellar is one of my favorite actors. See Last Night if you get a chance.
What I have noticed with films and music in general is that when given the absolute minimum of resources to work with, the better the idea or product. I have enjoyed every Egoyan movie on some level and I consider him as one of the great filmmakers of out time. He hasn't quite sold out and I like that. It's rare. However 'Ararat' turns out (I've heard it's quite good from my friends in Armenia that are film buffs and have a critical eye), Egoyan should be applauded and appreciated for what he has given us- a forum to exhale. I urge us all to drum up as much PR for this movie as possible and consider it a crusade to bring people from outside our community to see it.
As if we needed any more challenges, rumor has it that the Turkish lobby has enlisted to Jewish Diaspora in America to help use their influence in Hollywood to limit the number of theaters "Ararat" will be shown in. And we thought the Israeli silence on the Armenian Genocide was despicable...
posted by Raffi at 8:37 AM
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