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The Promise (a movie about the Armenian Genocide starring Christian Bale)

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F

ffejeromdiks

Banned
Was just about to post this but saw there's already a thread.

Looks great, Oscar Isaac lookin' like he's gunning for another Oscar to go along with his first name lol.

Hopefully brings a bit of awareness to the real history, the Armenian Genocide is shamefully unheard of for most people in the west.
 
T

tearsintherain

Member
This is a movie where everyone dies, isn't it :(

Looks awesome but way, way too sad for me to go to theaters to see it

Wonder why a release date isn't set yet? Dec 2016, few theaters, so it can get the oscar noms?

Also wonder if the stars and director will be banned from Turkey after this trailer.
 
1

18-Volt

Member
tearsintherain said:
Also wonder if the stars and director will be banned from Turkey after this trailer.
Click to expand...

They can't do that. You can freely recognize the genocide in Turkey, government cannot create laws against it, so banning anyone involved with the movie is out of question.

But as a response, they'll probably do their own version of the movie, a propaganda movie. Telling events from "their own viewpoint". Most of the prolific actors would refuse to star in such movie, so they'd go with shitty conservative actors.
 
H

Hagi

Member
Everything I've read about this event has been horrific as fuck, straight up bone chilling stuff. This is going to be a tough watch knowing what the Armenian s were subject to.
 
O

orthodoxy1095

Banned
Yes. Yes. Yes.

So good that a movie about the genocide is being made. Someday the other two genocides will hopefully get their stories told as well. I just hope they really do justice to the stories of the Armenians.

Can't wait to hear about the Erdogan-Turkish nationalist reaction.
 
F

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Oh, it's a fantasy movie like Lord of the Rings right?
Cause this "Armenian Genocide" never happened, OBVIOUSLY! LOLOLOLO

I just facetimed with Erdogan and he says I'm right and he is a democratically elected leader so he has to be right!
 
A

Akahige

Member
Looks kinda by the numbers but Bale and Isaac usually deliver.

Did they actually cast any Armenian's in this?
 
S

Stereogatari

Banned
18-Volt said:
They can't do that. You can freely recognize the genocide in Turkey, government cannot create laws against it, so banning anyone involved with the movie is out of question.

But as a response, they'll probably do their own version of the movie, a propaganda movie. Telling events from "their own viewpoint". Most of the prolific actors would refuse to star in such movie, so they'd go with shitty conservative actors.
Click to expand...

I admit the Armenians were massacred in Anatolia. But as you and most of GAF will know I'm always compelled to bring up Turkish deaths and pain that happened in the same time period, because English speaking people don't get that side of the story as much as they get the Armenian and Greek side.

Many Turkish people are descended from ancestors that had to flee the Balkans and Caucasus. They fled because Turks and other Ottoman Muslims were massacred and forced out of former Ottoman lands as Christian ethnic groups with the help of Christian great powers established their nation-states.

People will look at me as usual as "Stupid Turkish racist just stfu". But when I have close friends whose ancestors had to leave everything behind in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece etc. because of the violent nature of those times, it feels difficult for me to stay quiet whenever the Armenian genocide is mentioned.

I mean let's be honest. Will there ever be a Hollywood production on how the Turkish populations of the Balkans and Caucasus were decimated? That's what upsets me. I feel like by being a Turk I'm a bad guy by default and that my people went through no suffering at all. I'm not denying the Armenian's sufferings, in fact I wish Anatolia had retained its ethnic mosaic (Turkey would be less of a shithole country then).

orthodoxy1095 said:
Yes. Yes. Yes.

So good that a movie about the genocide is being made. Someday the other two genocides will hopefully get their stories told as well. I just hope they really do justice to the stories of the Armenians.

Can't wait to hear about the Erdogan-Turkish nationalist reaction.
Click to expand...

Will they make a 4th movie as well perhaps? About what the Balkan and Caucasus Turks suffered at the time as well?
 
G

G.ZZZ

Member
Shaanyboi said:
As good as this looks, getting Isaac to play someone from Turkey is... ugh...
Click to expand...

Because Turks are all brown? Turks are on average whiter than spaniards, italians and greeks (mostly because of near two millions russian immigrants after the russian revolution but i disgress)

First image from Google image googling turkey football team:

487115238-turkeys-national-football-team-players-pose-gettyimages.jpg


Turkey has middle easterners in it, sure, but to act like Greeks are white and Turks are not is stupid. In facts, a lot of greeks were actually Turks that were moved in the millions after the formation of the modern state to consolidate cultural homogeneization.
 
S

Shaanyboi

Banned
G.ZZZ said:
Because Turks are all brown? Turks are on average whiter than spaniards, italians and greeks (mostly because of near two millions russian immigrants after the russian revolution but i disgress)

First image from Google image googling turkey football team:

487115238-turkeys-national-football-team-players-pose-gettyimages.jpg


Turkey has middle easterners in it, sure, but they're no more middle easterners than Greek. In facts, a lot of greeks were actually Turks that were moved in the millions after the formation of the modern state to consolidate cultural homogeneization.
Click to expand...

So then how do you get a guy from Guatemala in that mix?
 
S

Stereogatari

Banned
Shaanyboi said:
As good as this looks, getting Isaac to play someone from Turkey is... ugh...
Click to expand...

George Oscar Bluth II said:
Looks good. In for Isaac (though him playing a Turkish guy? Eh) and Bale.

"I'm a proud Armenian."

Uh huh, sure. Totally Armenian.
Click to expand...

G.ZZZ said:
Because Turks are all brown? Turks are on average whiter than spaniards, italians and greeks (mostly because of near two millions russian immigrants after the russian revolution but i disgress)

First image from Google image googling turkey football team:

487115238-turkeys-national-football-team-players-pose-gettyimages.jpg


Turkey has middle easterners in it, sure, but to act like Greeks are white and Turks are not is stupid. In facts, a lot of greeks were actually Turks that were moved in the millions after the formation of the modern state to consolidate cultural homogeneization.
Click to expand...

Well said.

There are Turks who look like Isaac sure but he doesn't look like the average Turk who I would say is closer to Mediterranean European in looks than Middle Eastern looks.

The casting is a bit weird and perpetuates the White Christians VS Brown Muslims stereotype. Reality is Turks and Armenians have approximately similar phenotypes which is a overlap between Europe and Middle East. I know Turks that look like White people and Turks that look like Middle Eastern people. And Armenians appear to have that same diversity.

I mean Turkey is a funny place in that regard. Western regions have more "White" looking Turks and Eastern regions have more "Brown" looking Turks. The major cities are diverse.
 
Z

ZombiePlatypus

Member
Wow I totally didn't think we'd ever get an Armenian Genocide movie from Hollywood. Certainly not one with big names attached.

I wasn't a fan of Bale in Batman, but will definitely check this out.
 
L

lightskintwin

Banned
Shaanyboi said:
So then how do you get a guy from Guatemala in that mix?
Click to expand...

The same way you get an African American to play a Rwandan.

I'm not disagreeing with your criticism in general, but you already know how this works. The film probably doesn't get made without a major star like Oscar Isaac playing the Armenian. Which begs the question, if the film should've been made then, which is a whole other debate. As far as I'm concerned it's up to Armenians to decide whether they're fine with the portrayal or not.

ZombiePlatypus said:
Wow I totally didn't think we'd ever get an Armenian Genocide movie from Hollywood. Certainly not one with big names attached.

I wasn't a fan of Bale in Batman, but will definitely check this out.
Click to expand...

Looking at the production companies and studios involved, this looks like it was made outside of the Hollywood studio system.
 
B

brianmcdoogle

Member
Since people are bringing up race and ethnicity into this discussion regarding Isaac, has he ever played a Latin American? I know he's played Jewish, American, Italian, and Middle Eastern characters, but what else?
 
S

Shaanyboi

Banned
Stereogatari said:
Well said.

There are Turks who look like Isaac sure but he doesn't look like the average Turk who I would say is closer to Mediterranean European in looks than Middle Eastern looks.

The casting is a bit weird and perpetuates the White Christians VS Brown Muslims stereotype. Reality is Turks and Armenians have approximately similar phenotypes which is a overlap between Europe and Middle East. I know Turks that look like White people and Turks that look like Middle Eastern people. And Armenians appear to have that same diversity.

I mean Turkey is a funny place in that regard. Western regions have more "White" looking Turks and Eastern regions have more "Brown" looking Turks. The major cities are diverse.
Click to expand...
The problem isn't Isaac's skin tone or even him taking what work he can get. I typically am not going to bemoan an actor taking what work they can get when they are a woman or POC. The problem is that actors from the middle east, or south Asian nations rarely get to play themselves in any kind of positive light in Hollywood.
 
L

lightskintwin

Banned
Humenkind said:
Well damn, didn't think a hollywood movie about the Armenian genocide would happen. I'm sure Erdogan will be thrilled.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a Hollywood movie, it's just uses Hollywood talent.

The companies behind this film are Babieka, Survival Pictures, and Wonderful Films.

All of which I've never heard of.
 
D

Dead

well not really...yet
lightskintwin said:
I don't think it's a Hollywood movie, it's just uses Hollywood talent.

The companies behind this film are Babieka, Survival Pictures, and Wonderful Films.

All of which I've never heard of.
Click to expand...
several producers are Armenian. This was probably financed outside the major studios s you said.
 
L

lightskintwin

Banned
Dead said:
several producers are Armenian. This was probably financed outside the major studios s you said.
Click to expand...

Has to be, because while watching it I was thinking about what Hollywood studio would even be interested in funding a movie about the Armenian genocide, yet alone what appears to be a decent sized budget.
 
G

GrantDaNasty

Member
Y'know, I don't know all that much about the Armenian Genocide. I've heard it mentioned quite a few times, but now that I'm listening to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast on WW1 "Blueprint for Armageddon" (spurred funnily enough by BF1 being announced as a WW1 game), I got a better understanding of the significance of the event and the idea that modern Turkey to this day denies it ever happened is fucking appaling.

I will go see this in theaters when it comes out.
 
G

Glix

Member
18-Volt said:
They can't do that. You can freely recognize the genocide in Turkey, government cannot create laws against it, so banning anyone involved with the movie is out of question.

But as a response, they'll probably do their own version of the movie, a propaganda movie. Telling events from "their own viewpoint". Most of the prolific actors would refuse to star in such movie, so they'd go with shitty conservative actors.
Click to expand...

Isnt the leader of turkey jailing journos and professors like its going out of style??
 
petran79

petran79

Banned
G.ZZZ said:
Turkey has middle easterners in it, sure, but to act like Greeks are white and Turks are not is stupid. In facts, a lot of greeks were actually Turks that were moved in the millions after the formation of the modern state to consolidate cultural homogeneization.
Click to expand...

Τhey called themselves Rum actually. It was the term the Turks used for the Christians living in the East Roman Empire. This did not include just the ones speaking Greek but also other languages.

During the East Roman Empire (Byzantine), Rum meant Roman Christian. Hellen meant Roman pagan.
Greece (Graecia) was the derrogatory term Western empires, especially the Franks, used for the region, because they saw themselves as the true successors of Rome. The Eastern Roman Emperor they called Imperator Graecorum instead of Imperator Romanorum.

During the age of Nationalism, Greeks used the ancient term Hellenes, crossing the boundaries of the enslaved Rum. This term is today used for the whole of Greece (Hellas). At that time it was a struggle not just for Greece, but for the whole Balkan people to free themselves from the Ottoman Empire. Even Panslavism was inspired by that movement.
 
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