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The Promise

The Promise

History · Romance · Drama · 2016

Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, a love triangle develops between Mikael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated artist Ana, and Chris, a renowned American journalist based in Paris.

Movie details

The Promise

“Empires fall. Love survives.”

2016 History · Romance · Drama 2h 13m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, a love triangle develops between Mikael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated artist Ana, and Chris, a renowned American journalist based in Paris.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Promise?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The French Lieutenant's Woman

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The Ottoman Lieutenant

The Ottoman Lieutenant

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Lillie, a determined American woman, ventures overseas to join Dr. Jude at a remote medical mission in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). However, Lillie soon finds herself at odds with Jude and the mission’s founder, Woodruff, when she falls for the titular military man, Ismail, just as the war is about to erupt.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Terry George

Written by

Terry George · Robin Swicord

Oscar Isaac

Oscar Isaac

Mikael Boghosian

Charlotte Le Bon

Charlotte Le Bon

Ana Khesarian

Christian Bale

Christian Bale

Chris Myers

Daniel Giménez Cacho

Daniel Giménez Cacho

Reverend Dikran Antreassian

Tom Hollander

Tom Hollander

Garin

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Marta Boghosian

Rade Šerbedžija

Rade Šerbedžija

Stephan

Court is in session

Put The Promise on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.