TAKING A CHARMING JOURNEY TO ARMENIA
Susan Walker
Toronto Star, Canada
April 13 2007
Journey to Armenia
Starring Ariane Ascaride, Gerard Meylan and Marcel Bluwal. Written
and directed by Robert Guediguian. 125 minutes. At Canada Square. PG
A postcard picture of Mount Ararat, seen repeatedly, carries the
undercurrent of pride, homesickness and mourning that runs through
Journey to Armenia.
Barsam (Marcel Bluwal), an elderly Armenian-born man, lives in
Marseilles. His daughter Anna (Ariane Ascaride) is a doctor, who
sits him down after examining him and insists he must go in for
heart surgery.
"Stop calling me Mr. Barsam," he says. "I’m your father." And by the
way, "I would have loved to teach you something before I disappear."
He means die.
The next day he does disappear and the trail leads to Armenia. In
this tiny country, Barsam intends to live out his final days. Anna
packs her bags and flies to Yerevan, the Armenian capital. She is
expecting to get help locating her papa from a family friend, the
moustachioed Sarkis Arabian (Simon Abkarian).
Incredibly petite, shod in tall stiletto sandals, Anna plunges
intrepidly into Armenian society. She is introduced to Yervanth
(Gerard Meylan), sometimes known as General. He can help find Barsam
and also keep Anna out of trouble.
Through Anna’s days in the Yerevan and in the Caucasian mountains,
a beautiful country with a rich culture is revealed. There are some
indelible characters in this light-hearted film, not least the old
white-haired driver who takes Anna about, stopping occasionally to
fetch a hubcap that falls off his car.
Without angst or melodrama, director Robert Guediguian has made a
film that gives nationalism a good name.
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