The Lark Farm

Few filmmakers have been willing to tackle the controversial topic of the 1915 genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish military, so it's a shame that famed Italian directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani have ventured into this hot-button area with an extremely uneven melodrama. The first half of The Lark Farm feels like a variation of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, with a wealthy Armenian family oblivious to the growing danger that encircles their privileged existence. Tragedy arrives at the halfway mark, with Turkish soldiers slaughtering the Armenian males and forcing the women into an excruciating march into the desert. Running parallel to the story are efforts to rescue the remaining women, with help coming in the form of a ragtag collection of sympathetic Turkish beggars, an indefatigable Greek woman who once worked for the well-to-do family, and funding smuggled into the country with the help of Spanish diplomats. While The Lark Farm is punctuated with moments of harrowing tragedy—most notably a scene where Turkish troops force a mother to murder her newborn son—the film is weighed down by soapy subplots involving Nunik (Paz Vega), an Armenian beauty who becomes romantically linked to two Turkish soldiers. Still, the Taviani brothers deserve credit for shining a long overdue spotlight on this atrocious chapter of 20th century history. A strong optional purchase. (P. Hall)