The Promise

Featuring soaring performances from Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Academy Award winner Christian Bale, this epic romance from the director of Hotel Rwanda transports viewers back to a time of international upheaval. The First World War and the decline of the Ottoman Empire form the backdrop for a heart-wrenching tale of love, loyalty, and survival.

A humble Armenian apothecary, Michael (Isaac), leaves his village in southern Anatolia to study medicine in the capital. Michael has betrothed himself to a village girl in order to bankroll his studies with her dowry. His mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo) warns him not to marry for money, but Michael feels confident that, with time, he and his wife-to-be will come to love each other.

But that is before Michael meets Ana (Le Bon). Graceful, Paris-educated, and talented at both drawing and dance, Ana seems the girl of Michael's dreams. But Michael is determined to keep his promise. What's more, Ana is already in a relationship with Chris (Bale), a worldly American photo-journalist. These three souls are swept up in a drama greater than any of them could have imagined when the Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers and widespread violence begins.

As he did with Hotel Rwanda, director Terry George superbly balances the intimate with the political. None of his central characters are villains, but all of them are caught up in an ordeal that will test their mettle and force them to decide which promises they need to keep.