I Will Not Be Sad in This World

Torn from her mother at the age of 10 during the Turkish massacre of Armenians, and now one of the oldest living survivors of the 1915 Armenian Death March, 93-year-old Zaroohe Najarian is the subject of German filmmaker Karina Epperlein's I Will Not Be Sad in This World, which--while touching on these traumatic events through b&w photographs and voiceover narrative--aims for a more impressionistic portrait of Najarian as she goes about her day cooking, tending her garden, and visiting with family in Fresno, California. Perhaps in response to Najarian's obliviousness or unwillingness to respond to direct interview questions or guided conversations with her son and granddaughter, Epperlein opts for a less traditional narrative technique, encouraging three young girls to consider what life for Najarian might have been like at their age, and then combining their paintings and comments to create a quasi-Armenian fairy tale of Najarian's life. While the central idea here--connecting the past with future generations and thereby shedding light on a genocide most Americans know little about--seems noble, the resulting effort feels a bit forced. Ultimately, Najarian's eschewal of nostalgia, her unprepossessing earthy wisdom, and her quiet dignity form a more eloquent testament to survival and the 20th century Armenian experience, than the artificial storytelling employed with the trio of 10-year-old girls. A strong optional purchase for public and academic libraries. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)