Review of The Promise (2017) by Ann N — 21 Apr 2017
The most heart-wrenching movie I have ever sat through, telling not only the story of the Armenian genocide, but also the story of my grandfather's childhood, a childhood that haunted him throughout his life.
The deportation from the villages, the death marches through the desert, the wholesale slaughter of men, women, and children, these are re-enactments to us, but they were the reality for many of our parents and grandparents.
That was my grandfather as a 7-year-old boy marching for days in the caravans, that was his father and brother kneeling before the executioners, that was his mother, sisters, aunts, and grandfather lying in the heap of dead bodies by the river.
The power in this movie is its truth. Beautifully depicted, expertly acted, painfully accurate, The Promise makes a mockery of those who declare, "Your life did not happen to you." As hard-hitting as this movie is, it is the history that informs it that will leave you gutted.
This is not entertainment; this is humanity at its worst. And that is why we must watch it.
This review of The Promise (2017) was written by Ann N on 21 Apr 2017.
The Promise has generally received positive reviews.
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