Frankly speaking, I believe there are a lot of people who aren't familiar with the Armenian Genocide during World War 1, that began 20 years before the Holocaust by the Nazi. With that said, there is definitely a sense of importance that is felt within this film to show the world that this atrocity did happen. Scenes of Armenians suffering and dying under their oppressors, are shown multiple times in this movie, and there are definitely many heartbreaking moments. The historical recreation in itself should be enough to justify seeing this movie, but apparently Co-Writer/Director Terry George thought it was necessary to throw in a fictitious love-triangle tale into the mix.
That war-romance sweeping epic part of the story is arguably the weakest aspect of this film, with it being rather derivative and emotionally manipulative at times. It's not egregiously horrible of a plot though, and I can honestly see the appeal of it. Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale, are all effective enough in their roles, that people might find themselves even more invested in this movie, just to see how this genocide will affect the fate of their characters. It hits all the expected plot tropes to generate a reaction from the audience, so it serves it's purpose.
Like many historically based movies around, the actual history can be much more interesting than the filmed version of it, and this is no exception for "The Promise." I'm not denying that this movie has great production values and beautifully shot scenes, as well as having it's heart in the right place as to why it was made. It's not a bad movie by any means, but the impact it's trying to create as a historical and societal commentary is diluted by the more fictitious parts of the movie. However, if it gets people to be more exposed to the fact that the Armenian genocide did happen, then this movie deserves our gratitude.
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