‘Ararat’ (2002, current theatrical release)

Directed by Atom Egoyan

What exactly is “The Truth” and how can any of us ever really know?  That seems to be the big question director Atom Egoyan is asking with his latest film, ‘Ararat’.  Ani (Arsinée Khanjian) lectures on the famous Armenian artist Arshile Gorky (Simon Abkarian), stating her opinions on his work as fact.  Ani’s first husband was either an Armenian “freedom fighter” or a “terrorist” depending on your viewpoint who died trying to assassinate a Turkish politician.   Her second husband died falling off a cliff.  It’s unclear, however, if it was suicide or an accident.    Meanwhile, Ani’s son Raffi (David Alpay) is romantically involved with his stepsister Celia (Marie-Josée Croze).  While that would be more than enough to upset most mothers, Celia also blames Ani for the death of her father (husband #2) and shows up at Ani’s lectures to harass her.   Ani, on the other hand, refuses to consider that the death could have been anything but an accident.  Obviously these people have some issues. 

The engine that drives the story is a film within a film being directed by Edward Saroyan (Charles Aznavour).  The film (also called ‘Ararat’) is about the Armenian genocide carried out by the Turks during World War I.  The screenwriter (Eric Bogosian) decides he wants to incorporate the young Gorky into the film, and Ani is hired as a consultant.  Raffi also gets a job on the film as a driver.  Egoyan uses scenes from this movie within a movie to show the genocide, but we’re always at least one step removed from the truth.  What we’re watching is a movie about the genocide, not the actual events themselves.  There are several scenes that make it clear the truth has been diluted through “artistic license”.   Eventually Raffi decides to travel to Armenia and search for some answers of his own under the guise of filming additional footage.  On his return he is stopped by a customs officer (Christopher Plummer) who thinks the film cans Raffi has in his possession contain drugs.  It’s his last day on the job, and rather than call in the drug sniffing dogs he decides to listen to Raffi’s story.   

If you’ve seen any of Egoyan’s previous films like ‘Exotica’ or ‘The Sweet Hereafter’, then you know he doesn’t pander to his audience.   His films do not unfold in a straight linear fashion, and bits of important information are often held back until late in the story.  The result is a movie that you have to think about, and absolute answers are elusive.  This may well be Egoyan’s masterpiece.  It certainly feels like the culmination of the themes he’s explored in previous works, and the subject matter is clearly personal – Egoyan is Aremenian himself.  This film has not been popular with some people of Turkish dissent, who feel Egoyan’s view of the conflict is one-sided.   I would have to disagree with that criticism, however.  Although I think that Egoyan believes what happened was indeed genocide, the way this film is told makes it clear that he is only showing the truth as he believes it to be.   He isn’t telling you what to think, just asking that you do think. (Bob Ignizio)

'911: The Road to Tyranny' (2002, Infowars.com)  

Directed by Alex Jones

This documentary on the 911 attack is hosted by "Infowars" radio talk show host Alex Jones, heard on shortwave radio and the internet on the Genesis Communications Network  (or go to Infowars.com).  Alex is also a documentary filmmaker who along with cameraman Mike Hanson and wife Violet, have produced some high quality, very educational political documentaries such as "POLICE STATE 2000" (show this one to a friend or family member who's a cop), "AMERICA; WAKE UP OR WACO", "AMERICA DESTROYED BY DESIGN", and "POLICE STATE 2: THE TAKEOVER". Alex also does an Infowars TV show on public access in Texas and has written a book on the 911 events.    The documentary begins with a history of government tyranny (Rome, Hitler's Reichstag, etc) then goes into an extremely in-depth segment on the Oklahoma City bombing (almost too long). But it is needed to set the precedents of what happened on 911.

Alex combines local and national news segments, C-SPAN footage, news clippings, and documented history to put together the puzzle of how, why, and who was responsible for the event.  Alex reveals the Bush/Bin Laden family's business relationships, the FBI's role in allowing it to happen, the executive order Bush made protecting Al-Queda just before the event, and the "Northwood's Agreement" from the 1960's, which discussed such things as the US flying planes into it's own buildings and blaming it on Castro.  As conspiratorial as this all sounds the evidence is overwhelming and very much true.  A highlight includes a radio interview Alex did with David Schippers, the man who prosecuted Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings. Even Schippers with his good friends and close contacts in Washington couldn't get anyone to call him back on his questions regarding OKC and 911.

 
The film then goes into the militarization of our local police. Alex even shows a FEMA training film where police and firefighters are being told the founding fathers were terrorists! I got extremely upset to see this is actually going on. What amazes me even more is no news anchors seem to be reporting this stuff. They'd rather talk about dog attacks and Lebron James, or someone who didn't pay child support.. A news anchor here in Cleveland confided in me privately that the media is controlled. You take it from there. This film should be shown on all major networks 24 hours a day until people wake up to reality. This film will open up a heated discussion afterwards.

Available at www.Infowars.com. You can also see 45 minutes of it on Alex's site. (Mike Salamone)