Ararat
Miramax Films | Release Date: November 15, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Though typically engaging, Ararat occasionally suffers from what's previously been a virtue in Egoyan's filmmaking. His distancing techniques, rather than sharpening his ability to deal with a subject that lends itself to high emotion -- sometimes just seem distancing. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Egoyan's pedantic, lecturing approach makes the film a bit of a slog, although the basic material has an intrinsic interest that makes one at least want to know more about the historical events. Read full review
60
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Doesn't connect with its audience in the one place that matters most: the heart. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
Egoyan has always constructed dense ensemble films, and here again the writer-director hopes to reinforce his themes by piling layer upon layer of character. Unfortunately, the layers end up cluttering the story. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
An impressive work in many regards -- the acting, the photography, the pace -- but it would've been even more so had Egoyan gone with his gut and been less indulgent of his brain. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Egoyan is one of Canada's most ambitious and original filmmakers, but the power of this intricate drama falls short of its aspirations, despite his personal investment in the subject, since he is of Armenian ancestry himself. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Only two hours long but it may take your mind another day to get through it. Egoyan has stuffed a lot into this personal and strenuously opaque film, which perhaps explains why its over-plotted, elliptical structure seems so onerous. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
If I were a Turkish official, I would not be too worried by this picture. Nothing so slippery can stir up indignation. [18 November 2002, p. 104]
50
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
All in the cast are competent, and some of the slaughter scenes make us ache, but the overlaid material does not enrich, it impedes. Read full review
50
Village VoiceDennis Lim
If the movie feels cumbersome and overstuffed, it's because Egoyan's characters, so often aphasic, are this time driven by a compulsion to speak -- though the noisy tumble of words mostly underscores their failure to communicate. Read full review
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