The Promise

Because of strong Turkish government ties, American presidents have never acknowledged the Ottoman Empire's systematic annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915-18 as “genocide.” Director Terry George's sprawling, historical epic begins in 1914 as Mikael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac), an ambitious young apothecary in a small southern Turkish village is betrothed to a local girl so he can use her dowry to attend medical school, with a promise to marry her once he's a doctor. In cosmopolitan Constantinople (now Istanbul), naïve Mikael moves in with his father's cousin—a local merchant—and he meets vivacious, Paris-educated Ana Kasabian (Charlotte Le Bon). Ana lives with angry American journalist Chris Myers (Christian Bale), and an ill-fated romantic triangle soon forms. When Ottoman Turks enter World War I as allies of Germany, and anti-Armenian violence erupts, Mikael is sent to perform forced labor on the railroad. Escaping, Mikael returns to his war-ravaged village, reluctantly marries his fiancée, and then hides in a mountain cabin. Meanwhile, inquisitive Myers reports the atrocities inflicted on the Armenian population in American newspapers. One would expect that the contrived romantic rivalry subplot would be sent to the back burner in the face of harrowing, real-life slaughter, but that is not the case in this overtly manipulative melodrama. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Terry George and producer Eric Esrailian, deleted scenes (6 min.), and production segments on “The Love Story” (3 min.), “War and Struggle” (3 min.), and “A Cause” (3 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing historical epic.] (S. Granger)