All language subtitles for Ararat_English

[ somber theme playing]

You can't bring this in.

Please.No fruit or vegetable.

That includes pomegranates.

It's on your form.

I like to eat the seeds
of this fruit.

One each day, for luck.

I'm sorry. That's not allowed.

WOMAN [ on PA ]:
For security reasons,

please do not leave
your bags unattended.

[ woman repeats message
in French ]

What are you doing?

This way, I don't need
to bring it in.

I eat it here at the gate
of your country.

Look.

So I bring luck
in my stomach.

Will you try?

[ crowd chattering in Armenian ]

[ in Armenian ]:
Raffi, the real point
of this poem is that

the girlfriend is crazy.

[ all laugh ]

RAFFI:
"No," the girlfriend
said angrily.

"I want your mother's heart!"

So the boy went
and killed his mother.

You know what they say,

there's always a woman
at the heart of it.

[ all laugh ]

RAFFI:
As he ran through the streets

with her heart in his hands,
he tripped and fell.

His mother's heart cried out,

"My poor boy!

Did you hurt yourself?"

[ laughs ]

[ crowd chattering ]

CELIA [in English ]:
You know what?

I completely forgot
she had a party.

I told you she--
The party's not the point.

The fact is, you make these
physical appearances

without letting anybody know.

I mean, it makes perfect
sense to me.

CELIA:
Why would I need
to tell anyone?

RAFFI:
Look, I'm not saying
you need permission.

[ in French ]:
Permission for what?

[ in English ]:
Celia, just try and understand
her point of view.

[ Celia speaks in French ]

[ playing soft music ]

[ in English ]:
Why can't I read
her book?

Just wait till
it comes out.

But you've read it.

Give me your copy.No.

Why not?

I'm part of the family.Look, I promised her that I...

What?

I wouldn't give
you my copy.

Please.Celia, come on.

I'm making it hard for you
to be the perfect son.

I'm sorry.

Just, I don't get why
it has to be this way.

Yes, you do.

I was happier
when you got along.

It wasn't as much fun.

Says who?

The ghost
of the father.

My father,
not yours.

Yours died like
a hero.

Mine died in a stupid accident,
according to her.

You look after
your ghost, Raffi,

and I'll look
after mine.

Did you give her my book?

This is too weird for me.

What is weird, Raffi?

Smoking pot,

or sleeping with
your stepsister?

Look, I'm old enough
to know--

What are you
telling me, Raffi?

That this is all normal?

That she should continue
to harass me?

Tell people that I'm responsible
for her father's death?

No one asked her
to come here.

She could have stayed
in Montreal.

She needed us.

What she needs is
to destroy me

the same way she thinks
I destroyed him.

Mom--

She will never understand
why I stopped loving her father.

Or for seeing someone else?

I'm not accountable
to her.

I am.

Why?

Because I love her.

[ in Armenian ]:
That's a new twist
to the story.

[ in Armenian ]:
Why do you need to call
it a story?

Don't you have anything better
to do at your age

than fall in love?

My age?

You were married
at my age!

[ train rumbles in distance ]

[ in English ]:
Thank you.

Tony, like
to say grace?

TONY:
For what we're about
to receive,

may the Lord make us
truly grateful. Amen.

DAVID:
Amen.

TONY:
Dad?

Yes?

Why didn't you say "amen?"

Well, I say it inside.

TONY:
Inside where?

Inside my head.

TONY:
Can God hear it
inside your head?

What do you think, Dad?

God hears all your thoughts.

But you don't believe in God.

Grandpa, that's not really
what happened.

See you.TONY: Bye, Grandpa.

[ somber theme playing]

[ bicycle bells ringing ]

Here's the situation, Dad.

Whenever Tony comes
over alone, he's fine.

We play, he laughs,
he's full of joy.

Whenever you're around,
he becomes quiet and withdrawn,

and we can't stand it.That isn't true, Philip.

The more oppression you--Oppression?

He loves when I'm there.

The more you bring this heavy
cloud into our apartment,

the more he believes that
the way we live is wrong.

Now, I have never
told him that.

You don't need to.

He can feel your disgust.

Philip...

And where did he get that
Ali doesn't believe in God?

He asked me why your friend
doesn't say grace with us.

My friend--I told him

he had his own God,
and that's true.

Philip, I'm--

I'm trying really hard
to accept all this.

I really am.

Dad.

You're retiring soon.

You're gonna have a lot
of time on your hands.

Either you make an effort
to change your attitude,

or you're not welcome
at our place anymore.

[ airplanes whooshing ]

Where are you coming from?

Turkey.

Can you open this?

What are these?

It's film.
It's motion-picture film.

It's for a movie.

I have--

I have some stuff from...

This sort of thing is usually
done through a bonder.

Well, they wanted me
to handle it.

Who's "they"?

It's very valuable footage.

Can you open it?

Well, no.

It's exposed film.
It'll destroy it.

Oh?

It's for a movie that's
being shot here in Canada.

I had to go to Turkey
to get some process shots.

Process shots?

Shots that'll be used
for digital effects.

You know, plates,
that sort of thing.

I don't understand.

We needed these scenes
of hundreds of people

passing through
these places,

and it's too expensive
to take actors and extras

to the middle
of nowhere,

so we shoot empty shots
of location.

It's cheaper to add people
in later on.

[ whispers indistinctly ]

I'll be back.

[ somber theme playing]

[ Armenian folk music playing ]

[ somber theme playing]

[ sheep baaing ]

[ shepherds shouting
and whistling ]

[ villagers chattering
in Armenian ]

[ bell tolling ]

ANI:
Arshile Gorky remains one of

the most influential figures
in modern art.

His most famous painting,
The Artist and His Mother,

is based on a photograph
that was taken in 1912.

The only image that exists

of the artist's early life
in his native land.

Gorky is seen holding
a bunch of small flowers

as a fragrant gift
to his absent father,

the intended recipient
of this remarkable photograph.

CELIA:
I'm confused.

Had Gorky changed his name
by this point?

ANI:
No, he changed it
in his twenties

after his arrival
to the United States.

Celia. Sit down.

ANI:
Gorky looks prematurely solemn

with almond eyes
and an oval face,

his hair combed neatly
to the side.

Shushan looks bravely
at the camera,

challenging her absent husband
with a--

CELIA:
Challenging?
Why would you say that?

Isn't it obvious he knew
the Armenians

were about
to be massacred?

He went to America to prepare
a life for his family.

They wanted to send him
a photograph

to let him know they
were still alive.

There's nothing challenging--

Gorky never understood
why his father did not return.

Celia, just sit down.
Come on.

Aren't you confusing Gorky's
father with your dead husband?

I mean, your first
dead husband?

The one who was shot
by the police?

The terrorist?

EDWARD:
Sit down. Sit down.

We're here to listen
to this lecture.

[ scattered applause ]Let's go.

[ tense theme playing]

The Artist and His Mother

is not simply a painted version
of a photograph.

The differences underline
the expressive elements

that make this piece
such a powerful work of art.

Gorky's homage
to his mother was bound

to take on a sacred quality.

His experience as a survivor
of the Armenian genocide

is at the root
of its spiritual power.

With this painting,

Gorky had saved his mother
from oblivion,

snatching her out
of a pile of corpses

to place her
on a pedestal of life.

[ soft theme playing]

[ children chattering
in Armenian]

GORKY'S MOTHER [ in Armenian ]:
Let me look at you, son.

You're missing
a button.

It must have fallen off.

Hold your hand
in front of it.

Like this?Yes.

[ Gorky singing softly
in Armenian ]

I was just so shocked
to see you here.

I've seen all your films,
and I really--

Please, please.

We're the ones who are
overwhelmed by this.

I've been writing this
screenplay for five years,

done as much research
as possible,

and you come up
with this.

With what?

Well, that Gorky was a child
during the rebellion in Van,

that he was there.

My mother was
a genocide survivor.

All my life, I promised
to make a film

to tell her story,
how she suffered.

And now we are making
this film.

I'm not
understanding something.

Is Gorky in your film?

Not yet.

ROUBEN:
As you were speaking,
we got very excited

about the idea of working him
in as another character.

Well, not an entirely new
character,

but a character
we could build on.

See, this amazing artist
as a young kid.

It'd be great to have you
as a consultant.

EDWARD:
You have offered us
a gift

from the ashes of all
that has been destroyed.

We can open this gift together.

[ rock music playing
over speakers ]

[ moaning and panting ]

[ laughs ]

What's going on?

Why did you bring up my dad?

Well, he didn't run away.

Okay, my mom just had
to distance herself from him.

Oh? To save the family?

He wasn't a terrorist.I didn't say he was.

You said he was a terrorist.Did I?

Well, I suppose you could
see it that way.

I mean, he was about
to assassinate a diplomat.

He was a
freedom fighter.

Celia, there's
a difference.

Sure. It was a really cool
way to go.

A lot better than my dad,
jumping off a cliff.

Jumping?

He committed suicide.

Well, that's new.

I thought the story was
my mom pushed him off the cliff.

A story?

You think I'm making up a story?

No, that's not what I meant.

[ mysterious theme playing]

CELIA:
Raffi, I'm saying that what happened to my father matters.

I know that no one else cares,
but it matters to me.

RAFFI:
Well, then how do
I make it matter?

What happened to my father?

CELIA:
You just do.

RAFFI:
How?

CELIA:
You go there.

And you stick it
in here.

And you listen
to it beat.

Beat all night, all day.

That way, you never forget.

[ somber theme playing]

Mount Ararat.

When I was a boy,

my mother used to tell me
this was ours. Heh.

Even though it was so far away.

And I used to dream
of a way to approach it,

to make it belong
to who I was,

to who I became.

Marty,

this book is the key
to your character.

It's the actual journal
of Clarence Ussher,

published in Boston
and New York in 1917.

Every scene in this film
is based on this document.

Think of it.
I mean, it's the true story

of a man who sees an entire
community wiped out

and is sickened by it.

So you can't play it--I've read this book.

As well as every available piece
of archival material

that so much as hints
at the region,

or these people,
or the Armenian genocide.

And I'm currently rereading
the Bible with Ussher in mind,

so beyond that,
it's pretty much

up to my imagination.

And now I'm here to make a film
with Edward Saroyan.

Okay?

This painting was very,
very popular

even a hundred years ago
when it was painted,

and it's very popular now.

People love this painting,
and I think it's because--

Because it's such a warm,
safe picture of two little kids.

We get the feeling that these
two kids in front of the fire

warming themselves
after their bath...

[ gasps ]

How'd it go?

I think it went great.Did you get it?

Do they like you?ALI: I think so.

[ cell phone ringing ]

Hello? Yeah--

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

Good news?

He just got a big part
in a movie.

Let me
call you right back,

because I'm in a gallery
and I can't really talk.

Do you play a good guy
or a bad guy?

I play a very, very,
very bad man.

[ roaring loudly ][ kids scream ]

[ soldiers chattering
in Turkish ]

MAN [ in Armenian ]:
Just look at them.

Nice and comfortable,
sipping their coffee.

No idea what's about
to hit them.

[ soldiers chattering
in Turkish ]

MAN 2: [ in Armenian ]:
Let me take a shot.

You couldn't
shoot a cow.

[ whispers indistinctly ]

There's another 20, 25

creeping up on us.

And in the front,

one chicken.

Aim!

[ tense theme playing]

MAN 1:
Fire!

[ grunting ]

[ soldiers shouting ]

[ dramatic theme playing]

[ horses whinnying ]

[ screams ]

[ shouting in Armenian ]

[ shouting in Armenian ]

[ in English ]:
Leave the weapons
outside the compound.

Leave the weapons
outside the compound.

Get him inside.
Get his clothes off

and get him
ready for surgery.

To make sure that we get help,
I'm sending each of you out

to deliver
a copy of this letter.

[ woman translating
into Armenian ]

The letter says to Americans
or any foreign consul

that there are
internal troubles in Van.

[ translating into Armenian ]

So inform
the American government

that American lives
are in danger.

[ woman translating
into Armenian ]

EDWARD:
And cut.

That's a cut.

MAN:
Okay, everybody,
hold your positions.

Everything you see here

is based on what
my mother told me.

What is it?

You wouldn't be able
to see Mount Ararat from Van.

Well, yes, but I thought
it would be important.

But it's not true.

Heh.
It's true in spirit.

ROUBEN:
See what you can do, okay?

And let me know.

I got to go.
Yeah, I got to get off.

Okay, I'll talk
to you later. Okay, bye.

Sorry. I had a call.

Rouben, Ani's confused
about the mountain Ararat.

She has noticed
quite correctly

that it would not
be seen from Van.

Well, we thought we could
stretch things a bit.

I mean, it's such
an identifiable symbol

and given the moment in history
that we're trying to show--

ANI:
So it's something
you could justify?

Sure. Poetic license.

[ chuckles ]

Where do you get those?

Wherever you can.

ANI:
So, that's my job?

To let you feel better
about distorting things?

EDWARD:
The young boy in our film

gets sent by Ussher
to deliver a letter.

He gets
caught by the Turks.

That's the character
we make into Gorky.

How would you do that?

Okay, by April, 1915

the Turks have completely
surrounded the Armenian quarter.

Within the quarter,
inside these fortified walls,

is the American mission
run by a Dr. Clarence Ussher.

Okay, outside
a few hundred men

armed with ancient guns

are surrounded
by well-armed troops

with the latest
in European artillery.

[ explosion nearby ]

ROUBEN:
Miraculously,
through their ingenuity,

or their teamwork,

they're able to hold
the Armenian position,

but they're completely
isolated.

They are cut off
from the outside world.

Ussher has to somehow get word to the outside world

about what's about to happen.

And so he hopes
that one of these boys,

Gorky, will get through.

[ dramatic theme playing]

So do it.

That's it?

That's all
you have to say?

Edward Saroyan is

one of the greatest
directors in the world.

Twenty years ago.
Yes.

Whatever.

Raffi,
you know how long

I've been
working on this.

It can help
Gorky's story get told.

Go for it.

What?

Why do you
still sleep here?

[ scoffs ]

It's my home.

Doesn't
she want you there?

It's uncomfortable.

It's too humid.

Can we talk about
what happened the other night?

Sure.

That's why she wanted
to read my book?

So she could humiliate me?

So fight back.

Don't be ridiculous.

She knows next to nothing
about art.

And I'm certainly not going
to respond to her accusations.

You seem to be doing
a pretty good job.

What are you talking about?

Just the way you use
history like a weapon.

I mean, talking
about Gorky's mother

as a way of attacking
Celia's issues.

Celia's issues?

Are you
out of your mind?

It was a prepared lecture.

Raffi, she wants to believe that
I murdered her father,

that I pushed him
off a cliff.

Would I do that?

Would you like to believe
that your mother is a killer?

Is that remotely possible
to you?

Her new theory
is that you made him jump.

How?

She thinks the whole
last chapter

of the book
is a way of admitting guilt.

Oh, I see.

The idea being
since Gorky committed suicide

her father
must have as well.

It's easy
to make fun of her.

Not as easy as you think.

Raffi, she wants
her father's death

to be more meaningful
than it was.

It gives her a cause.

We all know how dangerous
those can be.

She has no right
to compare the two men.

Your father died
for something he believed in.

I just wish I had some idea
what that was.

[ airplanes whooshing ]

[ somber theme playing]

This film was shot in Toronto
almost a year ago.

Yeah, that's right.

And now you're coming back
from Turkey

with these cans of footage?

Uh...

This tells me
you worked on this film

as a production assistant
and driver.

This is a letter
of recommendation

for future employment.

It doesn't explain why

you're returning from Turkey
months later.

There was some stuff
they wanted to add in Turkey.

They added a character.

"They"?

The director and the writer

and my mom.

Your mom?

Yeah, she's an art history
professor.

She was a consultant
on the film.

She got me the job.

So, who's this new character?

Arshile Gorky,
the painter.

Turkish painter.Armenian.

Why did you go to Turkey
to shoot an Armenian painter?

That's where he's from.
He was born there.

Armenia was historically
part of eastern Turkey.

Anatolia.

And they sent you alone,
without a crew?

Yeah, they wouldn't have gotten
permission to send a crew there.

Why not?

It's not that easy
to shoot a story

about the Armenian
genocide in Turkey.

It's politically sensitive.

In what way?

Because the Turkish authorities
don't want to admit it happened.

Oh, why not?

Well, you'd have
to ask them.

So, uh,
what's the story about?

That's very good.
Your father's very good.

Effendi.

BEY:
Yes?

Can we discuss
a payment?

Do you know what I think of
as I look at these faces?

PHOTOGRAPHER:
No, effendi.

BEY:
I think of what's
in their mind

as they stare
at your camera.

Their desperate need
to be remembered.

For what, we may ask?

A payment is a gesture
of thanks, no?

Yes, effendi.

So, let us examine
what it is

that you have
to be thankful for.

A man of my position

has chosen you
to take his portrait.

And this has brought you
prestige, honor.

How will you
give thanks?

You're welcome.

Would you like
to thank me as well?

Sevan.

[ sighs ]

We shall find another time,
another means.

Ah.

Ah.

There are
different ways

to express
gratitude.

...but deliver us
from evil.

[ translating
into Armenian ]

For thine
is the kingdom

and the power
and the glory.

[ both speaking
foreign language ]

BOTH:
Amen.

ALL:
Amen.

[ crowd chattering ]

[ in Armenian ]:
We have to go.

[ in Armenian ]:
God bless you.

Do you remember
when we took this photo

to send to your father?

Yes.

If the Turks capture you,

you will never give up
your faith.

You will never forget
your mother tongue.

If you survive,

it will be to tell this story.

Of what has happened here.
Of what will happen--

We will win, Mother.

Take this picture with you.

You will not forget me.

We will win.

[ both sobbing ]

[ men chattering
in Armenian ]

[ explosions in distance ]

[ gunshots in distance ]

[ suspenseful theme playing]

[ explosions in distance ]

[ suspenseful theme playing]

[ whinnies ]

[ soldiers shouting ]

[ both yell ]

BEY [ in English ]:
Now, I want you
to remember

that this
has to be nailed

into the ball
of the heel.

Not the sole,
because there is

no bone in the sole.
It'll fall off.

[ boy screaming ]

[ explosions in distance ]

[ screaming continues ]

An appeal
for Christian help.

Does your missionary
feel so persecuted?

We've invested you Greeks
and Armenians

with power and freedom.

You should be thankful!

[ boy continues screaming ]

This your mother?

She's given you
this photograph

so that you may
remember her.

Look at it now.

This is a face of a woman

who has raised you
to feel superior to us.

She's taught you that Turks
are vengeful and ignorant.

That we're
bloodthirsty.

Now I am going
to teach you something.

What is about
to happen to your people

is your own fault.

For as much as you talk about
your prophet Jesus Christ

in the depths of your souls,
you believe in nothing

but commerce and money.

My streets are overrun

with your markets
and moneylenders.

Your greed has led us
to corruption and ruin.

Now you yourselves
will be ruined.

Take this back
to your American missionary.

Pick it up!

You take that back
to your American missionary.

He must sign it.
Otherwise, he must accept

50 of my soldiers
in the mission compound.

Do you understand?

DAVID:
You said that this character

gave something to the boy
to take back to the missionary

for him to sign.RAFFI: It was a document

stating that "I shall
refuse Turkish protection."

But that's obvious.

He was helping protect
the Armenians.

Exactly.

Actually,
Ussher and Jevdet Bey

had met a few times before.

He tried to stop him
from carrying out his plans.

What plans?

For genocide.

Over a million people
were killed.

An ancient civilization
living on ancestral lands.

[ woman crying ]

RAFFI:
It was systematic
and fully planned.

The entire
Armenian population

of eastern Turkey
was eliminated.

[ woman crying ]

[ ominous theme playing]

BEY:
Now, I need permission

to put 50 soldiers
with cannon and supplies

in your mission compound.

Why?

Well, to protect you,
of course.

We're under the protection
of the United States of America.

The United States
of America.

They're so far away.

It won't be safe

to send
so many Turkish soldiers

into the heart
of the Armenian quarter.

It's bound to cause trouble.

What danger are you trying
to protect us from?

[ sighs ]

If you have a problem
with taking my soldiers,

you must sign this statement

that you refuse the protection
of the Turkish government.

RAFFI:
If Ussher signed the document

it would be like giving
the Turks permission

to slaughter the Americans
in the compound

the same way that
they were massacring

the Armenians outside.

You've lost me.

It was the same document
that he presented to the boy.

If the United States
government

ever made an inquiry
into the incident,

that statement,
the document the Turks

wanted Ussher to sign,

would affirm
that the Americans

were offered protection,
but that they refused.

And if he'd let them in?

The Turks would use it
as a strategic point.

With that many soldiers
and artillery

based in the mission,
they'd have a foothold

in the Armenian quarter.

A Trojan horse.

Right.

So, what did he do?

Our premises are part
of the United States of America.

They're extraterritorial
by treaty right,

completely neutral.

And we will preserve
this neutrality

to the last.

[ speaking in Armenian ]

[ crowd chattering
in Armenian ]

[ somber theme playing]

[ watch ticking ]

[ sighs ]

[ dramatic theme playing]

Levon! Levon! Levon!

[ in Armenian ]:
Stop! Levon, stop!
What are you doing, brother?

Levon, you'll be killed.
Come back, Levon!

[ men shouting in Armenian ]

[ gunfire ]

[ groans ]

They were heroes.

What happened in Van
in April, 1915

was an amazing act
of self-defense.

We hadn't done anything
like that

since we held back
the Persians.

And when did you hold back
the Persians?

451.

451.

Well, like I said,
we, uh...

We go back.

MAN:
Could you come back
to the office, please, sir?

I don't know why
I'm wearing this sword.

I didn't have it
in the movie,

so it's
kind of ridiculous.

This is so tight
I can't--

Does it have to be
so tight, this thing?

I wanted to thank you.

Wow. Are you kidding?

MAN:
We'll just take it from
the top here, all right?

This was
a huge break for me.

You're one
of my favorite directors.

I want to thank you.

Can I ask you something?

Hm?

Did you cast me just because
I'm half Turkish?

No, it's because
I thought

you would be perfect
for the part.

But being Turkish
didn't hurt.

No, it didn't hurt, no.

You never asked me
what I thought of the history.

What is there to think?

Well, whether I believed
it happened,

a genocide.

Well, I'm not sure
it matters.

No. I don't want
to take up your time.

The thing is,
when I play a part,

it's supposed
to come from here.

Right? Not here.

Right? Because I was
doing some research

and I think the Turks had
a real reason to believe

that the Armenians were
a threat to their security.

Their eastern border
was threatened by Russia

and they believed the Armenians
were going to betray them.

So this was war.

Populations get moved
around all the time.

Well, again,

thank you for your work.

MAN:
Ali, we're ready
for you.

[ chuckles ]

I got your car
around back.

I'll drive you home.

MAN:
Let's do it.

Mr. Saroyan.

Yes?

Why didn't you answer him?

Because he's having regrets
about playing the part.

I can understand.

He will receive anger
from his people.

But he thinks Turkey
was at war with Armenia.

Doesn't it bother you that
he doesn't get the history?

No, not really.

I mean, why didn't you
explain to him

that we were citizens,
we were Turkish citizens?

We had a right to be protected.

Are you driving him home?

Yeah.

Fine.

Take this.

Buy him
a bottle of champagne.

Let him think that
he has done something...

special?

"Something special."

I'm sorry, Mr. Saroyan.
I don't think I understand.

Young man,

do you know
what still causes

so much pain?

It's not the people we lost

or the land.

It's to know that
we could be so hated.

Who are these people
who could hate us so much?

How can they still deny
their hatred?

And so hate us...

hate us even more?

[ somber theme playing]

Hey, that was a good scene.Thanks.

It must be really weird
to get into that head space.

Yeah.

I mean, I was raised with
all these stories.

You know, evil Turks
and everything, so I...

I'm a little
hardened to it all.

Yeah.

But what you did today,
I mean, it...

You made me feel
all that anger again.

Hey, thanks.

So I take it you're Armenian.

Well, yeah. That's what
I meant when I said

I was, you know, raised
to feel a lot of hatred

to the person
you're playing.

Right, right.

You really pulled it off.

Well, it'd be kind of hard
to disappoint you.

What do you mean?

Well, you were kind of prepared
to hate my character, you said.

Well, sure,

but I'm also kind of suspicious
of stuff

that's supposed to make me
feel anything, you know?

So when I was watching
you today, like, even though

I know you were supposed to
make me feel like hating you,

I resisted it, but...

But then, I mean, by the end
of the scene, I just...

You felt like killing me.

Yeah.

My dad was killed trying to
assassinate a Turkish diplomat.

That was almost
15 years ago.

I could never understand what
would make him want to murder,

what he had to imagine that
Turkish ambassador represented.

But today,
you gave me a sense

of what was going on
in his head.

I want to thank you.

Well, you're welcome.

Shit.

What's this?It's from Edward.

He wanted to give it to you
in thanks.

Now, was this before or after
my conversation with him?

After. I guess he wants to show
there are no hard feelings.

Ah.

Okay, thanks.

RAFFI:
Were you serious
about what you told him?

What?How you don't think it happened?

What, the genocide?Yeah.

Are you gonna shoot me
or something?

Look, I never heard about
any of this stuff

when I was growing up,
you know?

I did some research
for the part.

From what I read,
there were deportations and...

Lots of people died,
Armenians and Turks.

It was World War I.

Yeah, but Turkey wasn't at war
with the Armenians.

I mean, just like Germany
wasn't at war with the Jews.

They were citizens, they were
expecting to be protected.

That scene you just shot was
based on an eyewitness account.

Your character, Jevdet Bey,

the only reason
they put him in Van

was to carry out
the complete elimination

of the Armenian population
in Van.

There were telegrams,
there were communiqués.

Look, I'm not saying
that something didn't happen.

Something?

Look, I was born here.

So were you, right?

Yeah.

This is a new country,

so let's just drop
the fucking history

and get on with it.

No one's gonna wreck your home.

No one's gonna destroy
your family.

Hmm?

So let's go inside
and uncork this thing

and celebrate.

Hm?

Do you know what Adolf Hitler
told his military commanders

to convince them
that his plan would work?

"Who remembers the extermination
of the Armenians?"

And nobody did.

Nobody does.

[ somber theme playing]

WOMAN [ over PA ]:
For security reasons,

please do not leave
your bags unattended.

[ woman repeats
message in French ]

Roll up your sleeves.

Why?Please, roll up your sleeves.

I don't do drugs.

Can you open that bag,
please?

The number you gave me
has been disconnected.

They must've closed
the production office.

Then who's paying
your bills?

What bills?The cost of your travel.

I'm paying for it myself.I thought this was for the film.

It is.

Then why wouldn't they be
paying for it?

Because they don't know
I went.

They didn't want to shoot there,
so I went myself.

I found myself a cameraman and
we went to shoot this material.

I thought the director
might need some extra shots,

stuff that he could
cut in later.

And what about the digital
effects, the people marching?

Well, that can still be added
if that's what they want to do.

Can you play one of these
on this?

Yeah.

Well, could you put it on,
please?

They're kind of personal.

Then let's go somewhere private.

[ soft theme playing]

RAFFI:
I'm here, Mom.

Ani.

In a dream world, the three
of us would be here together.

Dad, you and me.

I remember all the stories I used to hear about this place.

The glorious capital
of our kingdom.

Ancient history.

Like the story that Dad
was a freedom fighter,

fighting for a return to this, I guess.

And then he died.

And now something in me
died too.

What am I supposed to feel
when I look at these ruins?

Do I believe that
they're ravaged by time,

[ over monitor ]:
or do I believe that they've
been willfully destroyed?

Is this proof of what happened? Am I supposed to feel anger?

Can I ever feel the anger that Dad must have felt when--

When he tried to kill
a Turkish diplomat?

How did you know?Well, you gave me your passport.

Files are kept. Heh.

You happen to be the son
of a terrorist.

Can you turn that back on,
please?

--he tried to kill that man?

Why was he prepared
to give us up for that, Mom?

What's the legacy he's supposed to have given me?

Why can't I take any comfort
in his death?

When I see these places, I realize how much we've lost.

Not just the land
and the lives.

The loss of any way
to remember it.

There is nothing here to prove that anything ever happened.

[ dramatic theme playing]

[ horse whinnying ]

[ soldiers shouting ]

[ soldiers shouting ]

[ woman shrieking ]

[ soldier shouting
and woman sobbing]

[ somber theme playing]

Excuse me, please don't get
too close to the paintings.

I like
looking at the detail.

Do you know anything
about this artist?

Not really. I mean,
I picked up a little

from that lecture
the other night.

The one you left.

What do you remember
from the lecture?

How much he suffered,
losing his family...

his mother dying of starvation
in his arms.

When you look at this painting,
can you understand?

Understand what?

That he would
kill himself.

His home was lost,
his family destroyed,

never to be seen again.

This painting
shows his pain.

So much pain.

He couldn't stand it.

[ Armenian folk music
playing over speakers ]

What do you think?

I haven't finished it.

What you've read so far.

Rouben,

I'm not the best judge
for this kind of thing.

I've never read
a script before.

Did you get to the part where
Gorky rushes into the street

and grabs the rifle
from the wounded Turk?

Yes.

I know Edward's style
is a bit over-the-top, but...

It's really...

It's very good.

Listen,

maybe I'll get more excited
when I actually see it.

It's--

It's difficult for me
to imagine these things.

[ dramatic theme playing]

[ gunfire ]

[ men yelling ]

MAN [ in Armenian ]:
Go retrieve the rifle! Run! Run!

[ dramatic theme playing]

ANI:
"As a boy involved
in the heroic defense of Van,

"Gorky was witness to one of
the most courageous moments

in Armenian history."

[ horse whinnying ]

"But the years which were
to follow

"would see him lose a home,
his people,

"and most dramatically,
his beloved mother.

"In his most famous painting,

"Gorky leaves his mother's hand
unfinished,

"as if the history
of its composition,

"like that of his people,
had been violently interrupted.

"The earthly sensuality of
the mother's touch is no more.

Only a pure, burning
spiritual light remains."

CELIA:
Excuse me.

You said before

that Gorky worked on
that painting ten years.

That's right.

Is it possible to work
on something that long

and leave it unfinished?

The painting is finished.

The unfinished hands
of his mother

were left purposely that way.

Yeah, but don't you think
he finished his mother's hands

and after,
decided to erase them?

That he needed
to destroy what he made?

Can we talk about
his suicide?

No.

Why not?

Because that was not what
I had intended to read today.

I'm just curious

about the way you described
his suicide in your book.

You make it sound
as if Gorky was obsessed

with memories of the genocide,
but you don't talk about--

Thank you all for coming
to this event.

Okay, I just want to talk
about the suicide.

[ in French ]:
What's your fucking problem?

[ in English ]:
You said something
to my father.

[ in French ]:
Like what?

[ in English ]:
That you were
having an affair.

[ in French ]:
Don't get involved in things
that don't concern you.

[ in French ]:
Did you intend
to destroy his life?

What are you talking about?

My father
left my mother for you.

My father
gave up everything for you.

Listen, your father was fully
aware of what he was doing.

I have nothing
to apologize for.

My father loved you.
My father was suffering.

If he knew that
you were having an affair,

I have no doubt that
he would have killed himself.

ANI: Your father died accidentally.

He tripped and fell.

I don't have any other way
of explaining it.

It's a question of time.
There's no rush to separate.

[ speaks indistinctly ]

ANI:
Look, I didn't see him fall.

CELIA:
You didn't see him fall,

or you don't want to think
you saw him fall?

ANI:
I don't remember anything,

but the fact that he slipped
and he fell.

I can't remember it
the way you want me to.

And even if I could remember
what you want me to remember,

I won't.

I don't need to.

Do you understand?Uh-huh.

[ in English ]:
Yeah. Heh.

[ dramatic theme playing]

Hey. Hey! Wait, no!

Let go. Let go.

She was carrying a knife.

Yes.

So there was a certain degree
of premeditation?

It was a pocketknife,
something she always carries.

Oh, because she never knew
when she might need it?

What do you mean?I'm talking about her job,

what she did for a living.

Oh, yes,
I know all sorts of things.

When she was arrested,

the police discovered
she dealt drugs

as well as various
credit frauds on the Net.

You were questioned
about your involvement.

She insisted you had
nothing to do with it.

It's all in your files.

Was that true?

What?

That you had nothing
to do with it?

I... I knew about it.

Well,
you didn't tell anyone?

No.

So you didn't have a problem
with the fact

that your sister
was dealing in drugs?

Stepsister.

Ah, yes, stepsister.

Most people are obvious

about the crimes they commit.

By the time
I get them to this room,

it's just a matter of time
before it all comes out.

RAFFI: What?The shit.

I don't understand.

My job becomes pretty simple,
really. I sit where you are,

I watch them on this toilet,
waiting for the truth.

The compressed tablets
of heroin,

sometimes they get so nervous,
the body acid breaks the package

and they overdose.

But that can take hours.

I sit and wait.

It's usually pretty silent.

They have time to think,
so do I.

You know what goes
through my mind, Raffi?

I wonder if I should
feel sorry for them.

They're usually kids,
around your age.

I'm about to destroy
their lives.

I know they're sorry
for what they've done

and they'll never
go through it again,

but the action's been taken.
It's too late.

I had to go there.

I have no doubt about that.
A flame was lit in your heart.

You thought things would be
clarified by going there.

But they weren't.
You lost meaning.

And people are vulnerable
when they lose meaning.

They do stupid things.

I didn't lose meaning.

It's more like the meaning
of things changed.

What are you doing?

There's something
I need to read to you.

Ani, you're being ridiculous.
Her attacking the painting

had nothing to do
with this film.

I won't go on with this.

Listen, you need to.
We all do.

Rouben,
what does this mean to you?

I'm sickened by it.

Because you feel responsible?No, of course not.

I'm sickened because people
shouldn't do those things.

What, attack works of art?

What's your point, Ani?

Rouben, you're sickened
because that painting

is a repository
of our history.

It's a sacred code
that explains who we are

and how and why we got here.

Excuse me. You can't go on set.
We're rolling.

We have an intruder on set.

MAN 1:
It's okay.
We'll handle it from here.

MAN 2: Clamp, clamp.MAN 3: What is she doing?

WOMAN 1:
Oh, look at this.

MAN 3:
It took us hours to set this up.

I need to talk to you.

WOMAN 2:
They better be paying me
for overtime.

Please,
we're shooting a scene.

All right.
We're cutting now.

MARTIN:
What is this? Goddamn it!

We are surrounded by Turks.

We've run out of supplies.
Most of us will die.

The crowd needs a miracle.
This child is bleeding to death.

If I can save his life, it may
give us the spirit to continue.

And this is his brother.

His pregnant sister

was raped in front of his eyes

before her stomach
was slashed open

to stab her unborn child.

His father's eyes
were gouged out of his head

and stuffed into his mouth.

And his mother's breasts
were ripped off.

She was left to bleed to death.

Who the fuck are you?

[ sighs ]

[ somber theme playing]

"In a field of cinders where
Armenian life was dying,

"a German woman
trying not to cry

"told me the horrors
she'd witnessed.

"'I must tell you what I saw
so people will understand

the crimes that men do
to men.'"

[ in German ]:
It was Sunday morning.

The first useless Sunday
dawning on the corpses.

I saw a dark crowd
in the courtyard

lashing a group
of young women.

An animal of a man shouted,
"Dance."

RAFFI [ in English ]:
"'You must dance.
Dance when the drum beats.'

"With fury, the whips cracked
on the flesh of the women.

"Hand in hand, the brides
began their circle dance.

"'Dance,' they raved.

'Dance till you die.'"

[ in German ]:
"Dance with bare breasts,
without shame."

[ whip cracks]

[ men yelling ]

[ whip cracks ]

[ women shrieking ]

Then...

...someone brought
a jug of kerosene.

RAFFI [ in English ]:
"The brides were anointed.

"'Dance,' they thundered.

"There was a fragrance
sweeter than any perfume.

"With a torch,
they set the brides on fire,

"and the charred bodies
rolled to their deaths.

"The German woman
looked at me and said,

"'How shall I dig out
these eyes of mine?

Tell me, how?'"

[ women screaming ]

[ sobbing ]

[ record needle scratching ]

[ soft theme playing]

[ sobbing ]

RAFFI [ over monitor ]:
This is it, Mom.

Madonna and Child
on the island of Akdamar,

where it all began.

I was there when
they shot that scene.

It was the same day
she attacked the painting,

the painting based on this.

I left for Turkey
a week later.

Does she know
you went to the island?

Who?Your mother.

No, she doesn't.

Have you spoken to her?No.

People lose touch.

There's something
I've been meaning to ask you.

Yeah?

Aren't there dogs
used for this sort of thing?

What sort of thing?

If you think there are drugs
in these cans.

Yeah, we have dogs
for that.

So, uh,
why don't you use one?

What?
A dog.

A dog would take away what
I like most about this job.

What's that?

The opportunity to better
understand how the mind works.

A dog would come in
and bark

and that bark would mean
only one thing.

That there were drugs
in these cans.

[ barks ]

"You're lying.
I caught you. You're a liar."

That's what a dog does.

Right.

I'm not saying what
a dog does isn't important,

but there are other issues
involved, aren't there?

Things a dog doesn't have
the capacity to consider.

A dog wouldn't know
he's being retired.

That this is his last day,

his final interrogation.

Is someone picking you up?

No.

Good.

They'd be worried.

Heh. Even I'm worried.

About what?

About you.

What are we going to do?

There's no one I can contact.

There's no way of confirming

that a single word
you've told me tonight is true.

Everything I've told you
is exactly what happened.

[ majestic theme playing]

[ soldiers shouting ]

EDWARD:
My mother never told me

about what happened
during the march.

Only one story.

They had a pomegranate tree
in the garden.

and when they came
to take the family away

she grabbed
one of the fruit.

She knew the journey
would be long.

Every day, she would take out
one seed and eat it.

She would bite it
bit by bit,

pretending that one seed
was a whole meal.

Try it.

Now when I eat
a pomegranate seed

it gives me two things:

Luck,

and the power
to imagine.

[ cell phone ringing ]

Hello?

Mom, hi.

Raffi?

Raffi, where are you?

I just got back to Toronto.

They've stopped me
here at customs

with all the footage
I got for the film.

They're wondering
what's inside the cans.

What cans?
What are you talking about?

Yeah, the stuff I had
to shoot around Van.

They've stopped me
here at customs

and, uh, they want
to open the cans

but they can't, because the--

[ in Armenian]:
Raffi, do you want me to lie?

Yes.

I miss you too.

I have so much
to tell you, Mom.

I went to Akdamar.

ANI:
Akdamar?

I saw the Mother and Child
on the church.

I had some days free,
so I went to Akdamar.

Here, I'm going to hand you
over to the inspector.

He wants to know more
about the film this is for.

Hello, are you
Raffi's mother?

ANI:
Yes, I am.

Are you a professor
at the university?

Yes, that's right.

DAVID:
And you're involved
in this film?

ANI:
Yes. I was hired as
a historical consultant.

A book I wrote
was used as a reference.

What was the book about?

ANI:
It was about the life
of Arshile Gorky.

DAVID:
Is he the main character
in the film?

No.

What was your son
shooting in Turkey?

He had to go to the place
where Arshile Gorky was born.

Why?

To shoot some material.

DAVID:
And how is this material
to be used?

To help show what happened.

How did he die?

Who?

DAVID:
Gorky.

Why are you asking me
these questions?

Did he kill himself?

[ crowd cheering ]

Ani, we have to go.

[ in Armenian ]:
We have to go.

[ in English ]:
Where are you?

ANI:
Where am I?

Listen, she's at
the premiere of the film

and she'll have
to get back to you, okay?

Hello? May I speak
to my son, please?

So the film
is completely finished.

ANI: Please, let me speak to my son.

Raffi?

Yeah.

[ in Armenian ]:
Tell me what to do.

[ in English ]:
Sure.

I'll meet you at home.

[ cheering and applause ]

Marty, how are you responding
to the people

who say this is all
an exaggeration?

You know, it's documented.

Really, every word
I say is directly quoted

from Ussher's own journal.

RAFFI:
That's where I met them.
Right on the train.

DAVID: To Ararat?They were shooting a commercial.

A commercial?

I became friends
with the cameraman

and I told him that I wanted
to get an image with this, this.

I wanted to get a shot
of Ararat in the picture.

What for?
For the film.

I thought it was
something we could use.

How? The film was finished.I wasn't thinking about that.

He had to bribe a soldier.
That's a military road.

You can't just go up there.

That's his voice.
You can hear it on the--

We went up about halfway,
and then we shot this footage,

from there on film,
on this film.

Why didn't you
tell me this before?

I had to tell you
the other story.

Why?

Because it meant
something to me.

So this voice on the tape,

this crew person,

gave you the film,

let you use his camera,

bribed a soldier,

and then drove you
up Mount Ararat.

Yes.

Did he ask you to do him
a favor in return?

Who?

Raffi.

Did he ask you to bring
anything into this country?

He asked me
to bring those cans.

[ sighs ]

And what's in them?

He said it's film.

Why did you believe him?

[ tense theme playing]

[ speaking in French ]

[ tense theme playing]

ROUBEN:
Ani.

Ani!

[ women crying]

[ gunfire]

[ horses whinnying ]

[ soldiers shouting
in Turkish ]

[ crying ]

[ women screaming ]

[ soldiers shouting ]

[ somber theme playing]

[ child shouting ]

[ shouting and crying
continues onscreen ]

[ shouting and crying echoing]

[ somber theme playing]

Close the door.

RAFFI:
Can we turn out the light?

Why?

So the film won't be ruined.

You're still convinced.

You can feel it in the dark.

All right, Raffi.
Turn off the light.

[ cans clatter ]

DAVID:
For the last time,
what do you think is in here?

RAFFI:
Film.

That's what he told me.

That's what I need to believe.

DAVID:
What would happen
if you didn't believe it?

RAFFI:
I'd be a criminal.

DAVID:
What would you say
if I told you it was heroin?

RAFFI:
It isn't.

DAVID:
What makes you so sure?

RAFFI:
You'd turn the light on.

[ women screaming ]

[ soldiers shouting ]

[ screaming ]

[ shouting and crying
continues onscreen ]

[ sobbing ]

[ screaming ]

[ speaking in Turkish ]

[ somber theme playing]

ANI:
Sir, arrivals?
International arrivals?

[ somber theme playing]

PHILIP:
You let him go?

Yeah.

PHILIP:
But what was in the cans?

Would you believe me
if I told you?

PHILIP:
What do you mean?

Heroin.

[ scoffs ]

No.
Film?

But I don't get it.
You did check the cans.

Yeah, one.

What was in it?[ scoffs ]

It doesn't matter,
for chrissakes.

Dad.

I trusted him.

But he was lying
to you all night. He--

He changed his story.

No, the more he told the closer
he came to the truth...

till he finally told it.

I couldn't punish him
for being honest.

But he was
smuggling drugs.

He didn't think he was.

How do you know?

He didn't believe he could do
something like that.

Dad...

what came over you?

You did, Philip.

I was thinking of you.

[ soft theme playing]

REPORTER [ on TV ]:
How are you responding
to the people

who say this is all
an exaggeration?

You have a visitor.

EDWARD [ on TV ]:
This film you can do only
once in your lifetime

because it tells a story
which is a true story...

[ TV continues indistinctly ]

EDWARD:
The genocide of the Armenians

has been denied
for more than 85 years.

ANI:
Arshile Gorky was born
in a small village

on the shores of Lake Van.

From the shores
of this village

the island of Akdamar
was in plain view.

Gorky, as a child, would go to
this island with his mother

who would show him
the detailed carvings

on the walls of the church.

CELIA:
Why are you showing this to me?

This is the origin.

From the memory
of this place,

to the photograph
to the sketch,

to the painting.

You told me to go there
to put something in my heart.

If that was gonna happen,
it was gonna happen here.

I was prepared to throw
my whole life away.

Then last night,

we were sitting
in that dark room.

As I heard him open the can,

I felt it.

You felt what?

His ghost.

The ghost of my father.

[ dramatic theme playing]

[ bells tolling]

[ children laughing ]

[ bells tolling ]

[ speaking indistinctly ]

[ woman singing softly
in Armenian ]

[ musicians playing soft music ]

[ singing in Armenian ]

[ children laughing ]

[ woman singing softly
in Armenian]

[ somber theme playing]

[ soft theme playing]