Ararat Page #4

Outside the city of Van,

Eastern Turkey, 1915

Just look at them!

Nice and comfortable... sipping

their coffee.

No idea what's about to hit them.

Let me take a shot...

You couldn't shoot a cow!

There's another twenty...

twenty five...

creeping up on us...

And in the front...

one chicken.

Aim!

Fire!

- Leave your weapons outside!

Get him inside.

Get his clothes off.

And get him ready for surgery.

To make sure that we get help,

l'm sending each of you out to

deliver a copy of this letter.

[Armenian]

The letter says to Americans

or any foreign consul,

that there are internal troubles

in Van.

[Armenian]

So inform

the American government

that American lives

are in danger.

[Armenian]

- And cut.

- That's a cut.

- Okay, everybody.

- Everything you see here is

based on what my mother told me.

What is it?

- You wouldn't be able to see

Mount Ararat from Van.

- Well, yes, but I thought

it would be important.

- But it's not true.

- It's true in spirit.

- See what you can do, okay?

And let me know.

Okay, I gotta go.

Yeah, I gotta get off.

Okay, l'II talk to you later.

Okay, bye.

Sorry, I had a call.

- Rouben, Ani's confused

about the mountain, Ararat.

She has noticed quite correctly

that it would not be seen

from Van.

- Well, we thought

we could stretch things a bit.

I mean, it's such

an identifiable symbol

and given the moment in history

that we're trying to show,

l just...

- So it's something

you could justify?

- Sure. Poetic license.

- Where do you get those?

- Wherever you can.

- So that's my job?

To let you feel better

about distorting things?

- The young boy in our film

gets sent by Ussher

to deliver a letter.

He gets caught by the Turks.

- That's the character

we'd make into Gorky.

- How would you do that?

- Okay. By April 1915,

the Turks have completely

surrounded the Armenian quarter.

Within the quarter,

inside these fortified walls,

the American mission, run by

a Dr. Clarence Ussher. Okay?

Outside, a few hundred men

armed with ancient guns

are surrounded

by well-armed troops

with the latest

in European artillery.

Miraculously,

through their ingenuity,

or their teamwork,

they're able to hold

the Armenian position,

but they're completely isolated.

They're cut off

from the outside world.

Ussher has to somehow get word

to the outside world

about what's about to happen.

And so he hopes

that one of these boys...

Gorky, will get through.

- So do it.

- That's it?

That's all you have to say?

Edward Saroyan is one of the

greatest directors in the world.

- Twenty years ago.

- Yes...

- Whatever.

- Raffi, you know how long

l've been working on this.

If it can help Gorky's story

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