A sweeping if unremarkable, ‘globe-trotting’ drama about a father who tries to locate his daughters after surviving the Armenian genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, with Faith Akin’s approach too conventional to really compel.
Review #2,689
Dir. Fatih Akin
2014 | Germany | Drama | 139 min | 2.35:1 | Various languages
NC16 (passed clean) for violence
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Simon Abkarian, Makram J. Khoury
Plot: In 1915 a man survives the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire, but loses his family, speech and faith. One night he learns that his twin daughters may be alive, and goes on a quest to find them.
Awards: Nom. for Golden Lion & Won Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award – Special Mention (Venice)
International Sales: The Match Factory
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – WWI Armenian Genocide; Father & Daughters; Survival & Faith
Narrative Style: Straightfoward
Pace: Slightly Slow
Audience Type: Slightly Mainstream
Viewed: MUBI
Spoilers: No
The Cut suffers from being too obvious with its conventionality. It wants to be a sweeping epic that tackles an important historical topic, but while everything seems to come together rather serviceably, more experienced viewers will find it too straightforward and one-note.
Coming from Fatih Akin, a versatile German filmmaker of Turkish origin, who straddles between arthouse and slightly mainstream fare like The Edge of Heaven (2007) and Soul Kitchen (2009) respectively, one might have expected The Cut to, well, be cut from a different cloth.
Alas, it goes through the motions of storytelling too plainly as a father tries to locate his daughters years after surviving the Armenian genocide of 1915 under the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
Few are aware of this historical atrocity, sparked by geopolitical tensions caused by WWI, and even if there is little to gain from viewing the film, The Cut at least puts the spotlight on it.
“Are you looking for these girls?”
We follow the father from one country to another, even heading over the Atlantic to Cuba at one point, as he chases after the sketchy leads that bring him one too many a false hope.
Tonally, Akin’s work benefits from an attention-grabbing original score that is largely made up of sustained electric guitar chords. Together with the vast landscapes that are captured beautifully, the music expresses a deep sense of melancholy and isolation.
A film about love and survival, The Cut struggles to compel outside of its aesthetic and musical qualities. There are some missteps by Akin, including a moment that would have been more befitting in a horror film.
It’s hard to believe that The Cut’s co-writer Mardik Martin previously co-wrote several of Scorsese’s gems, including Mean Streets (1973) and Raging Bull (1980).
Grade: C+
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 