Ararat

Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s multi-generational story tells of the Armenian genocide, perpetrated by Ottoman Turks during World War I and denied by Turkish officials ever since. Shifting his story from 1915 through the 1930s to the present and back, as a noted director (Charles Aznavour) and writer (Eric Bogosian) make a film based on the (real-life) testimony of an American missionary, Egoyan shows not only the genocide itself, but also how it lives in the memories of survivors and their descendents, including Egoyan, Aznavour and Bogosian. Egoyan’s indirect, elliptical style is a challenge, and loose ends dangle from his story, but his characters have rich, detailed auras—lives that continue when the characters are off-screen. It’s a haunted, bountiful film that demands patience—and rewards it.