1915

source: 1915

I'm a young Armenian man. I heard of this film because Serj Tankian did the score. Didn't know what to expect. I wanted to expect a live-action movie which reenacted the genocide, much like Schindler's List...however, this told a powerful, unexpected story through a bold parallel which delved deep into the psychology of what took place, how we feel about it as Armenians, and offered a gut-wrenching, heart- breaking yet hopeful path toward letting go, and possibly, moving on. The ending brought me to tears in an emotional crescendo. I felt the pain of the characters and what they faced. It's what we all face in our own way as Armenians. Live in the past, or move forward. Neither is without sacrifice.

The movie is great. The music is amazing. The story is deep. It makes you understand how difficult it is to make decisions in complicated situations (not that the Armenian genocide was just a complicated situation: it has been an horrible atrocity). At the end the movie left me with a conflict inside. The actors did a great job. Amazing job by the directors. I hope in a sequel.

I thought the movie was very interesting and out of standards. I think the directors had done an excellent job in making a 100 year story be so relevant to our lives today. People who are thinkers would enjoy this movie very much. However, you do need to watch the movie carefully because every word spoken is important and if you are not paying attention you can miss a great symbolism. The actors are very good, I especially enjoyed Simon Apkarian. I also liked where the movie was filmed. The LA theater is so old and beautiful. It seemed that it has stayed opened all these years just for this movie. My advice: Watch this movie carefully and you will love it.

The movie 1915 may just look like a movie alerting its viewers of the horrors of the Armenian Genocide and how they impact the lives of modern-day Armenians (which is a totally applicable and reasonable way of viewing the movie), the movie can also be read as the personal struggle and repent of Simon, as he attempts to remedy his wife's doomed condition. But before I can elaborate on this, there are some negatives that the movie holds. For example, the movie was a little too slow, with many scenes staying for longer than they should. Although this can signify the realism of the characters, due to there being long silences in many real-life dramatic scenarios, it still lowered the attraction of the movie, but not by a serious amount. Now, for the story itself, it can be read as a review on the genocide and how it affects everyone, but I believe that it can be viewed with more psychological analysis. I view the movie as being about Simon and his struggles in life, and not about the Armenian Genocide. The film shows that (to my understanding) Simon is a very patriotic man, as he believes that if you stand for something, you must give it 110% of your dedication. This explains his focus on respecting the ghosts of the dead, the ignoring of the protesters, and even the abandonment of his relative, who he deemed as not as dedicated as him. This is also very evident in the fact that he thinks that he can cure his wife's depression after losing their son, and uses the Armenian Genocide as both a tool to help her cope, and a tool to keep him going. But just like radiation, after using this to attempt to cure his wife, he also becomes convinced of his ideals, and because of his attitude to life, he has no intention of self-evaluation, until the start of the movie. Here, he sees how he has psychologically damaged his wife and thusly doomed her, and seeks of a way of redemption. He settles that the only way that he can fix the problem is by cutting him from her life, as shown by him desperately wanting his wife to take the soldier's hand in the play. Once she finally does, his conscious is cleared, or so he thinks, and he attempts to leave for good. However, he still hasn't d cured himself of his self-delusions, and finds himself back in 1915. Sadly, his wife was never truly changed for the better, as although in the play she has a new family, she still hears the lullaby Simon sang to her when they were together. This interpretation might be right, or totally wrong, but the fact that it can exist means that this is a story well-done, which greatly contributes to the movie's quality.

How do you make a movie about the Genocide without showing blood? How do you present a crime of the century without boring the audience with a pile of historical facts? How do you 100 years later make a movie with which the spectator can identify with? It has been done. It has been done in this movie called 1915. A profound movie for those who appreciate fine art. This movie is for those who think of a film not only as a form of entertainment but as art in motion. I truly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I watched it with my family members. The movie sparked a long discussion in our family. Most of us thought it was an awesome movie.

Simon Abkarian and Angela Sarafyan are, hands down, the greatest Armenian actors working today. And here in 1915 they are working together, showing us passion, pain, and a little bit of magic. The movie isn't for everyone, but the fact that it's a showcase for great talent -- great acting, great music, great production design, great costume design, great cinematography, and the rest -- is undeniable. Watch it and appreciate it, even if you don't love it. We need more movies like this, which don't tackle historic issues as mere period pieces. There are new ways of looking at history, and this is an excellent example of one such beautiful effort.

There are many praiseworthy aspect of 1915, but I will single out two of them. The first is the absolutely phenomenal performance of Nikolai Kinski in the role or Tony Gallow. He is absolutely brilliant and this role once again proves that he is one of the most talented European actors today. He is bone-chillingly good. The other is the music. Serj Tankian (System of a Down) might be a rock-star by night, but by day he has composed a lusciously beautiful score. To be honest I actually think Tankian is even more talented as composer than he is as front-man vocalist. Listen to the movie, don't just watch it, and you will know the meaning of 1915.

I had absolutely no idea what this movie was about before I watched it . Having a quick glance at the IMDb page I found out the titular name refers to the date of the Armenian genocide carried out in 1915 by Turkey and of a theatre director putting on a play one hundred years later , A weighty topic but one I had nailed down as a meta-fictional story within a story , a feeling reinforced by an actor called Simon Abkarian playing an obsessed director called Simon directing an actress called Angela who is played by an Armenian actress called Angela Sarafyan. Like I said possible meta-fiction but after seeing 1915 I'm really none the wiser after seeing the film than I was before I saw it !!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!! As expected the early part of the story revolves around the dictatorial obsession of a theatre bigwig of making a controversial play centered around the first genocide of the 20th Century . Simon demands the story is told and he's taking no prisoners with his cast or with the protesters outside . This isn't really the focus of the film and as it continues it gives a hint that there might be a curse upon the play with the occasional freak accident happening which suggested supernatural forces at play but then it's revealed that the truth behind the accidents are more humanist in nature . The film then takes a sharp turn with a kind of love triangle with Simon . Angela and an actor of Turkish descent who plays a Turkish officer which suggests it might be mutating in to a psychological horror of sorts along the lines of Aronofsky's BLACK SWAN but this as far as I know doesn't materialise ( I'll explain that in a second) and instead deliberately or unintentionally 1915 gives the impression of what a terrible life it is running a theatre company and being a thespian and no one out in the real world appreciates the blood , sweat and tears actors and directors endure in order to bring real life issues to the masses . Hmmm I wasn't aware the masses went to the theatre and they'd rather be in a multiplex cinema chain stuffing their faces with overpriced pizza and popcorn watching a film where the most important member in front of or behind the camera is the guy who does the CGI . Unfortunately by bringing up such a weighty , important topic of genocide 1915 seems to collapse under it's own importance and one wonders when Simon moans "Actors are really ghosts" if this is meant metaphorically or literally as the film ends in a confused ambiguous manner . I don't think I'll be seeing a film with a more confused message than 1915 in 2015

A mass of confusion for this viewer. The story seems to bounce around between - the horrible 1915 genocide of Armenians, a haunted theatre, a love triangle, political protesters, arguing actors, a frustrated director, police, how to sell tickets for a one night performance, a possible murder plot, and an actress that can channel the dead. I got lost in this story. I was hoping for some insight into the 1915 massacre innocent people but nothing like that happens. The entire story is more about Simon's ego than bringing to the public knowledge a horror that happened 100 years ago. A very odd movie.