Ali and Nino

First off, the Novel "Ali and Nino" by Kurban Said is the seminal piece of modern literature for the country of Azerbaijan. It is absolutely worth reading for anyone who enjoys literature of any kind. The English translation is short, accessible, and infinitely interesting. It is a love story, a clash of cultures, and a political-historical account of how Azerbaijan was the first liberal democracy in the Muslim world ... for less than two years before the Russians decided to conquer it again.

Of course, this movie was made and financed by the current authoritarian president of Azerbaijan's family, and is put together like a PR product to western nations. It's a bit like if Ivanka Trump decided to produce an adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath" for foreign audiences. It would certainly be technically well-done, but noticeably lacking much of the substance of the source material, perhaps even missing the point of the story entirely.

The book is full of humor and nuance in the interactions of the characters. It portrays a uniquely multi-cultural society where people from the same country, living literally under the same roof think so differently about things it is like they come from opposite sides of the Earth. The movie only briefly touches on a few of these moments, and kind of lacks context and buildup when it does.

What the movie gets absolutely right, and the whole reason to bother watching the movie, is the visuals. The cinematography really captures the feel of the place, it will make you homesick if you are from there, and make you want to see it for yourself if you have never been there.

So in sum, the visual depiction of the story's setting is an 11/10, A+, outstanding result. The adaptation of the substantive bits of the story leaves A LOT to be desired. The acting is fine, and may even be great if the screenplay gave the characters more or the development and "moments" from the novel.

If you read the book you will see that there were so much better scenes to adapt to the movie. Some scenes were nonsense. Some scenes weren't good enough. Auditioning - failed. Actings weren't satisfying for me: Nino is escaping country because of invasion and she is all happy and smiling at the train. I didn't like her acting at all. Great historical mistakes, wrong costumes etc. Overall maybe a good film for someone who hasn't read the book or doesn't know the culture and history. As I know the history and read the book, I can say that it is a failure of adaptation.

The touching love story with magnificent description of diversity of culture and different religions. Special thanks to the cast for creating such a multicultural unity! Elchin Abd

The movies leaves a deep impact on your heart. Wishing it may never end. Asif Kapadia continues his trait. One of those memorable tragedy movies you cant miss. Reminder of the forgotten history. Such movies are rare. A piece of art.

Strong story, beautiful directing, talented team of actors. This is a very solid historical drama which will appeal not only to patriotic Azerbaijanis but to all genre lovers.

Historical Baku was really well recreated. The shots of historical part of Baku and Caucasus mountains are gorgeous- this paired with splendid costumes make "Ali and Nino" visually a very beautiful movie. Asif Kapadia is an Oscar winning director and you can easily feel it in the movie as directing quality certainly above the average.

The cast is very multinational: Palestinian Arab Adam Bakri seems believable as a son of Azerbaijani khan. Spanish Maria Valverde is charming as Nino and easily evokes from viewers sympathy.

The culture of the East was well shown in the movie, revolution and fight for independence scenes, despite of low budget, are well executed- impressive and tragic as they should be. The last scene on the bridge is wonderful and definitely will burst a lot of people to tears.

My only concern is that movie is really short- only 1.5 hours. Way too little to show such a complicated time period of Azerbaijani history (overthrowal of monarchy and fight for democratic independent republic). You just cannot help but wish for story to slow down and take its time to show more details, maybe add more characters and make it much more than just Ali and Nino story.

But that little what was shown was great as well. Hopefully BBC will watch this movie one day and extend it to miniseries because story still has so much in it and it is definitely too good to be told in such fast and general manner.

It potentially could be a second "Gone with the Winds". But it wasn't due to short length and somewhat shallow portrayal of Eastern culture and historical background. But it is a very strong historical drama movie anyways. Beautifully shot and most importantly- it has a heart. It will bring you smile, test your nerves, brig tears- and sometimes all at once in one scene.

If you are familiar with Azerbaijan only via Eurovision and recent European Olympic games, I definitely recommend to watch this movie. It is a great opportunity to get familiar with early stages of Azerbaijani Democratic Republic formation and to grasp heart and soul of the nation.

10 out 10