Back in 1993 a film starring Daniel Day Lewis and Pete Postletrhwaite and Emma Thompson. Impress the critics and audiences by the powerful portrait of Gerry Conlon one of the four falsely convicted in the bombing of a Belfast pub. Later in 2005 a film about the Rwanda genocide in 1994 starring Don Cheadle. Both films cowritten by Terry George and the last one directed by George, open the doors to a successful career.

With great reputation in his back he directed Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon. “The Promise” is the story of a love triangle during the conflicted years of war between Armenia and Turkey. Mikael (Issac) a student of medical school in Constantinople, he becomes friend of high level Turkish official Emre, who introduce him to Ana (Le Bon) who is in a relationship with Associate Press reporter Chris Meyers (Bale).
Mikael falls in love with Ana at the same time World War I started, suddenly this love triangle becomes more complex when Mikael is sent to prison in a labor camp and Chris is seen by the Turkish government as a spy while covering the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman’s Empire.

“The Promise” is a soapy story of a love triangle with the Armenian genocide in the background. My big issue is the portray of certain characters by non native actors, specially by Isaac. The film could be more interesting if the focus their attention to Chris Meyers journalist work of the genocide instead of fictional love story that allow the audiences to digest the problems between Armenia and Turkish government, but felt short when the film is mostly focus on the melodramatic story of Mikael.