Beautiful romantic movie set against the backdrop of World War I. I don't know why many people are saying it as historically inaccurate etc etc. I mean, the movie never claims to be based on history or historically accurate. It is a love story between an American nurse and an Ottoman Army officer, only the timing of their affair also coincides with World War I. Maybe because I am neither American nor Turkish, so I watched it as neutral. Watch it as a neutral. Think of love story not World War I or history. It is not a lesson in history. Watch it for the story, for the locations. Beautiful scenery, exotic locations, don't know where it is filmed, maybe Turkey. You will fall in love the landscape. The lead characters play their part very well. Michiel Huisman is coming up very well. Hera Hilmar looks beautiful. They are good, but they are not big names at the moment and this movie needed some big names to be more recognized. If it was made in 60's, someone like Omar Sharief could have played the Ottoman Lieutenant and today it would have been regarded as a classic. Maybe if they become big names in future, maybe, the movie will have more appreciation. Ending, I think they messed that part. I mean there was no need for Ismail Veli to die. He is the main lead of the movie, the movie is named after him and he also has the girl. The guy deserved to live at the end of the movie. They shouldn't have made it a tragedy. Maybe current times or generation is not that much into tragedies.Also, pace is fast for a romantic movie. I mean, they should have taken some more time into character development or cultivated the romance between Hera Hilmar and Michiel Huisman. Such movies tend to be a bit slow and long and it also works for them very well. Still a beautiful movie to watch.

Ben Kingsley and Haluk Bilginer were great. And it's good to see the genocide story objectively.

Okay I will admit that as far as action/adventure/romance films go, I have seen a lot worse, but after watching thousands of films over the past six (6) decades I appreciate viewing more than the run of the mill wide angle cinematic adventure with excellent color and a decent music score but that takes too many liberties with historical events. This film is a story about a 23 year old Philadelphia nurse named Lillie (Hera Hilmar) who comes from a well to do family. Lillie rather quickly becomes disenchanted with the class struggles in her hometown and infatuated with an American born doctor without borders named Dr. Jude (Josh Hartnett). Dr Jude is only in Philadelphia to acquire donations and to speak about the hospital he works at which is indifferent to the imminent first world war and whose sole purpose is to serve both the Turkish and Armenian soldiers who insist on either killing each other first, or maiming each other as a consolation. So Lillie abandons her comfortable living, cashes in her grandmother's inheritance for medical supplies which she expects to deliver to her dreamy doctor's hospital thousands of miles away. To travel to the hospital Lillie is assigned an Ottoman Lieutenant named Ismail (Michiel Huisman). Lillie and Ismail are from two completely and diverse backgrounds both in their religious beliefs as well as their customs.So you can figure out there is the makings of a love triangle with Dr. Jude (Josh Hartnett) and Ismail (Michiel Huisman) vying for the naive nurse Lillie's affections. I really liked Michiel Huisman's portrayal of Lieutenant Ismail and I was not very impressed with either Dr. Jude's medical prowess, nor with his continuing to put on and repeatedly take off his spectacles from the bridge of his nose. Quite frankly I would have preferred to see him continually pick his nose than to remove and place on, remove and place on his spectacles, it was irritating and added no value to his proficiency as a medical doctor.As for Lillie, she was quite attractive, but once again her abilities as a nurse working in a foreign countries hospital were questionable at best. If you must see it for yourself how poorly she behaved as a nurse look no further than the final scene in the film where she is outside supposedly attending to the wounded soldiers. She puts her hand on their forehead (some diagnosis eh?) as they lay on a stretcher and then she points them to one of three entrance ways as if that is going to stop their bleeding?I liked the film overall for light entertainment with above average cinematography and a decent musical score. The adventure and action sequences though were below par. I give the film a five (5) out of ten (10) score.

I had this film come to my attention via Netflix. I'd shown an interest in all things Turkish having been an affectionate traveller there and enjoying the diverse people - most of whom (I met) adore the secular anti-Ottoman Kemal Ataturk's legacy, Many of my country-persons feel similarly since what we know as the ANZAC invasion (under Britain) in 1915. That is another story. . I viewed the film in a non-nerdy fashions, loved it as I happened to anticipate a bit of escapism and romanticism. The leading man and the 'triangle' love-story helped this! To my dismay many of the reviews latch immediately onto contemporary political points-scoring. I don't know why this engaging relationship in a scenically beautiful film can't be accepted for what it is. It is in the same genre as countless other 'good man in amongst awful war priorities and complexities' Casablanca, From Here to Eternity, numerous Brit films let alone US's frequent stereotyped heroics and Australia's Gallipoli.. A local 'hero' is permissible surely? Someone who is initially obedient but comes fo question his inherited professional career. How does that thread make this film an anti-Armenian propaganda piece?And to dump the actress for her 'appalling American accent". Really? Her gentle voice-over added to the narrative - for me.Overall I've found in my choices of Islam-based films that the innate 'let the woman choose' aspect of the passion such as the leads shared works fine in a piece of fiction. I replayed this to catch another look at the heavily criticised aspects. I stand by my first enjoyment!