The Cut

I'm a little confused by the cool critical reception this received on release in the U.S.. Yes, it's uneven at times, and it's slightly distanced emotionally for an epic historical melodrama about one of the terrible genocides of the 20th century. Yes, it occasionally traffics in clichés, and there are some clunky lines and awkward moments of dubbing.

But that is more than offset by spectacular photography, tremendously affecting scenes of horror, loss, sadness, hope, anachronistic but extremely effective music, and an intelligent attempt to deal with not only the Armenian genocide, but what it means to be a refugee, the nature of silence, the complexity of morality in a morally confusing world, and many other themes that raise it above most of the Hollywood historical melodramas we see, including many that win Oscars and are great successes (many of which also traffic in clichés and have some awkward dialogue). If it's not quite as great as the far more personal and quirky films that are the very best of Akin's work; Head-On, The Edge of Heaven, Crossing the Bridge , it's still a thoughtful and intelligent film by one of the most interesting film-makers in the world today.

It tells the story of an Armenian who is forced to leave his family and perform slave labor after the Ottoman Empire enters the first world war, and follows him into ever worse layers of personal hell. Rather than trying to capture the scope of the genocide all around him, for a long while we get only hints and glimpses of the horrible larger truth, seeing only those things our character does. It's an intimate experience of genocide. The second act of the film, once the war is over, is our hero's long and winding journey to try and find what might be left of his family. Not the first time such a subject has been dealt with on film, but this does it with an off-beat and almost dreamlike tone, and a meditative pace. I found myself thinking of filmmakers like Lisandro Alonso as much as Steven Spielberg. It's a strong and worthwhile cross between art-house and old school epic melodrama. If you are willing to forgive the occasional lapse, it's very worth seeing.

A note of caution: The German blu-ray, while great looking, does not have English subtitles. The film is largely, but not completely in English (English stands in for Armenian), but some crucial scenes are in Turkish or Arabic, with no translations offered - a real problem. On the other hand, the US DVD has the film mostly dubbed into Armenian (which Akin approves of), and completely subtitled in English, which, strangely was more effective in some ways than the English track (and I usually HATE dubbing). But in this case many of the supporting actors clearly are not native English speakers, and the performances get very stiff and off-putting for it at times. When I saw the film a second time, in the Armenian dub with all English subtitles, it actually helped a lot of those performances flow better, and I found the film a more affecting experience overall. However, I wish there was a release that offered both the original English track with subtitles for all other languages (which doesn't seem to exist), AND the Armenian dubbed track with English titles, as on the US DVD. And while I'm at it, I'd like all that on a blu-ray, since this is a beautifully shot film. Sigh...

As a retired history teacher, I think I should explain the context for "The Cut". It is set in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. The Empire is on its last legs, having lasted for many centuries, it's on the losing side in the war and would soon be broken up into many countries. In the meantime, the ruling Turks had many ethnic groups and religions within the empire. During this time, many Christians there were being persecuted...but none more vigorously than the Armenians. These people were despised by the empire and a horrible genocide was committed. Many of the Armenian men were pressed into the army and then literally worked to death. As for most of the women and children, they were herded into vast concentration camps where they were simply not fed or given water and died in the desert heat. Estimates are that in total between 800,000 and 1,500,000 Armenians died during this short period...and the remainder who managed to escape became exiles living abroad. Oddly, while most everyone throughout the world acknowledges that this occurred, still today Turkey denies that this occurred and many of its allies are unwilling to publicly mention it. In light of all this, the collaborative team of Faith Akin (Director and co- writer) and Mardik Martin (co-writer) is quite unusual. Faith is a German of Turkish descent and Mardik is an Armenian-American--a very unlikely pair working to expose the truth.

The film begins with Armenian men being pressed into work gangs by the army. Their work is back-breaking and soon you see them die one by one. When they don't die quick enough, the officer in charge orders his men to slit the throats of all the Armenians--no use wasting bullets on them. One of the men forced to kill has a conscience and has a hard time getting himself to kill one of the prisoners. At gunpoint, he finally stabs the man in the throat...but it isn't fatal and the soldiers assume the Armenian is dead. However, Nazaret is only gravely wounded and eventually the man who stabbed him returns to help him escape. Unfortunately, Nazaret is left mute--unable to talk because of the wound. Throughout the rest of the film, Nazaret slowly searches for his family and his journey takes him from Turkey to the Middle East to Cuba and eventually to the Dakotas in the United States! Is he able to find any of his family or were they simply liquidated like most of his people?

This is a very well made and, at times, extremely unpleasant movie. This is not a complaint. After all, you cannot make genocide a happy thing and, like Schindler's List, it's often rather depressing and harrowing. This is certainly not a film for children--they can always watch it when they're older and if you do let them see it, by all means watch it with them. Once you get through the sad and awful parts in the first part of the film, you'll find that it's a bit easier to watch. My only reason for not scoring it a bit higher is because of two minor problems. First, you can tell that the film was made on a limited budget and many of the scenes should have been much larger in scope and had more actors, didn't. As examples, the death camp scene and the portion with the army forcing the Armenians to work themselves to death only had a tiny number of actors--only a few dozen at most. Additionally, at times the film is a bit slow-- particularly during the second half. Neither of these things, however, are serious problems and the film is worth seeing and as well as finely crafted. Excellent direction and a sprawling, epic quality, along with an important subject matter, make this a truly memorable viewing experience.

I should say Faith Akin is currently one of the most important directors from Germany of Turkish descent. He brought a fresh spirit to German and Turkish film scene. He shows also great courage with the theme Armenian Genocide. He explains a personal story, but also takes a step to the Armenians from Turkish side, and try to say "we understand your suffering." Regrettably that is enough to be excommunicated from Turkish community, because it is still a taboo to talk about Armenian problem in such a way.

It is a pity that he missed such a great chance to create a good film with his humanistic intentions. Most of the scenes feel like staged, acting is mostly average. The main problem with the movie is the atmosphere. When I see a good movie, I forget that it is a movie and create an emotional connection with the characters. That is the most important thing for me as I evaluate a film. And it lacked completely for me. It could be the worst cinematographic work of Faith Akin till now. Still deserves above average from me.

Since I got to live in Turkey once for a year out of romance, I can honestly say that I love the place. I learned the language and developed an intense taste for Ezogelin and the ingenious music of Mercan Dede, Aynur Doğan and Ogün Sanlısoy. I got to know that the greatest poet of the 20th century - Nâzım Hikmet - was from Turkey. And I got to know that the one issue you cannot talk about is the Armenian genocide. One meets a teacher of English in Ankara or a martial arts instructor in Fethiye, one talks to Kurdish musicians in Diyarbakir or a CalState-educated engineer in Istanbul, and always encounters the same all-encompassing culture of denial – even though there is no discrimination against Armenians today, who have an active cultural life.

However this is supposed to be a review. "The Cut" is the fictional story of Nazaret Manoukian's unlikely survival of being pressed into the Turkish army, where he works in road construction. Eventually, the Armenian men are forced to either convert to Islam or die. The man assigned to kill Nazaret just stabs his throat, piercing his vocal cords and turning him mute – which is what the title alludes to. Nazaret finds shelter with an Arab and works in his tannery. After the war is over, he learns that his twin daughters are still alive, and embarks on a long journey across the world to find them.

Alas, what was designed by director Faith Akin to kindle a discussion of the Armenian genocide and was intended as a conclusion to his master pieces "Head On" (2004) and "The Edge of Heaven" (2007) is a failure. As noble as Akin's intentions are, the ingenuity and acting presence of his previous films is gone. Tahar Rahim is decidedly miscast for the main role, as brilliant as he might have been in "A Prophet" or "The Past". He is much too young and plays the part in a vacant, uninvolved manner. Ironically, Simon Abkarian, who would have been perfect, appears in a small supporting role. The horrors of the genocide, while shown in part, are actually downplayed so as not to completely offend Turkish viewers – which did not work at all and did not shelter Akin from intense criticism. For Western viewers, the imbalance between the rather short wartime story – which is of principal interest – and the long, long, loooong journey of the main character to find his daughters makes the film a bore.

Were the approach to the genocide less timid, the weakness of the acting and script would be forgivable. But as it is, "The Cut" is nothing more than a interesting failure; a failure well worth seeing to understand how difficult a subject the Armenian genocide still is, but not worth seeing as a film. Hopefully, one day someone will find the courage and budget to adapt "The 40 Days of Musa Dagh" by Franz Werfel, the greatest and most inspiring story about this subject, published on the eve of Hitler's rise to power and a terrifying reminder of the shape of things to come back then and now.

I found "The Cut" to be quite an amazing film. The story is epic almost biblical and unforgettable. Through the horrors of the Armenian genocide a few acts of humanity make all the difference. It's probably not the best film for the flapjack eating simpleton but if you can handle subtitles, respect other cultures and appreciate profound human experience, pick this one up. It certainly beats the prepackaged, formula, market tested, predictable hogwash vomited out of Hollywood year after year.