The Promise

“1915, Ottoman Turkey,” these words put a lump in the throat of almost any Armenian you find across the globe. It is the terrible memory of the first genocide of the 21st century where 1.5 million Armenians, mostly Christian, perished under systematic deportation and mass killings. It is a wound that even now, 102 years later has not been healed because of its horrors and the continuous denial of the Turkish government and most of the influential countries.

This is the backdrop of “The Promise” movie, directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker Terry George (“Hotel Rwanda”) that had to be independently funded because of political pressures against its production. It is the first movie of its kind to involve major stars like Academy Award® winner Christian Bale, Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac and César nominee Charlotte Le Bon.

The story centers around a wartime love triangle. There is Mikael Boghosian (Isaac), an Armenian apothecary living in a small Armenian village called Siroun, where Turkish Muslims and Armenian Christians have lived side by side for centuries. He plans to travel to Constantinople to study modern medicine and come back to serve his people. He is betrothed to Maral (it looks like an arranged engagement) and will use her dowry to pay for his studies and promises to return in two years’ time.

Upon arriving in Constantinople, he plunges into another culture. He stays at the house of his rich uncle and there meets Ana, a Paris-educated Armenian teacher who gives dance lessons to his young nieces. Mikael and Ana quickly begin to fall for each other, but, much to his dismay, Mikael soon meets Ana’s boyfriend Chris Myers (Bale), a devoted American journalist who enjoys drinking and exposing political truth.

Tension is building. Mikael has a promise to keep to Maral, although he does not love her, and Ana has to figure out how to deal with Chris, whose drinking and attitude has been annoying her for some time. But something bigger than their love story is happening.

At the dawn of World War I, hostilities against Armenians are on the rise. “It is not safe for our people” is an expression Mikael repeatedly cites, and he is right. Their own lives, the lives of their families and that of all Armenians in Turkey are on the line.

On April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals, statesmen, poets, businessmen and clergy are arrested, executed or exiled. Men, women and children are driven outside of their homes, massacred or forced to march across the desert. Chris passionately reports what he sees happening to Armenians and minority Christians. Mikael is arrested. Ana joins an American missionary orphanage and helps care for the wounded.

Through a miraculous twist, Mikael finds himself back in Siroun and faces the test of keeping his promise to Maral. But these are times of a greater Promise. That of survival, of helping loved ones and the orphans move to a village called Musa Dagh, so that a French warship may hopefully save them…

“The Promise” portrays the Armenian Genocide with historical honesty. In order to accomplish that, depicting violence is almost inevitable. Although director Terry George presents most of the violence off-screen (same approach he uses in his other movies), and the movie passes with a PG-13 rating, still, the actual barbarism may well disturb younger or sensitive viewers.

There is quite graphic anatomy-learning autopsy scene in medical school. Later on hanged bodies of men are shown, people die by getting shot, they get burned in trains and endure explosion. In another emotional scene, dead bodies of loved ones are piled up in a village. While most of these are shown through remote camera angles, the implied violence very real to the viewer. At times, off-screen violence is verbally described by characters, like how perpetrators cut the wombs of pregnant women and take out their babies.

The movie suffers a few profanities and several misuses of God’s name. Various forms of alcoholic beverages are consumed and one character is almost drunk. There is a bar scene where loosely dressed women dance. There’s also an extramarital love making scene (the woman’s bra is briefly seen), which, in my opinion, was unnecessary to the plot and could have been omitted.

Putting those few negative elements aside, the acting is convincing and the filmmaking quality is very good. Positive uplifting messages are many. Mikael does everything in his power to save his family and suffering people he encounters. Chris, despite having conflicting interests, risks his life to save Mikael and his family. He courageously reports the truth of the genocide and does not blow the cover of his Ottoman sources.

Another positive element is that the movie does not convey hatred towards the Turkish people. Along with hard-hearted officials, it portrays Turkish characters who care for the welfare of the Armenians. A high-ranking officer leaks information to save a Christian camp from slaughter. Another character tries to save the lives of his friends on many occasions, even sacrificing his life for them at the end.

“The Promise” is not a Christian movie, but the uplifting Christian witness of the Armenian people is well communicated. Priests and pastors join hands to lead, protect and pray with the people. Armenians raise their cries to God, and, despite their tremendous suffering, they do not abandon their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. Now that is the ultimate Promise!

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Also interestingly the movie does not try to provoke feelings of revenge, which is the normal human response. At one point, Mikael is filled with anger and says to Ana “I want revenge.” “Our revenge will be to survive,” replies Ana. This is an important Christian message. “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19).

In conclusion, I believe “The Promise” is a great film to watch if one can handle the moderate to heavy violence. Folks, this is no fiction. As a descendant of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, I myself have personally heard these horrifying stories from first-hand witnesses within my family who had miraculously survived these atrocities. There are thousands of documented accounts of these events (mostly from American Protestant missions) that include heartbreaking, yet inspiring stories of Christian martyrdom.

If you are not a Christian or have a different worldview, think for a moment that seeing and encouraging this movie will help raise genocide awareness and prevent such horrors for all people in the future. The world needs zealous “reporters” like Chris Meyers who do not stay idle in front of evil, but act by saying, “Without reporters, the Armenian people would disappear, and no one would know.”

If you are a Christian, I pray this movie will inspire you and help you have a richer vision of unity with suffering fellow Christians. Christian persecution is by no means a thing of the past! Genocidal acts are realities happening now in the Middle East and around the world. We have a common enemy, but also a common Savior.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:10-12).

Let us keep The Promise!

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.