The Ottoman Lieutenant

2017 "In a land on the brink of war the most dangerous place to be is in love."
6.4| 1h51m| R| en
Details

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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Reviews

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story
GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.
ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
King-Rishab 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.
perplexingwound Can't believe that Ben Kingsley would participate in a blatant propaganda film. And one financed by the Turks to shift blame for the attempted genocide of the Armenians from the budding Turkish government to 'rogue' military units, despite extensive historical verified evidence showing the Turkish government orchestrated the systematic killing of the Armenians.The movie is a poor attempt to influence public opinion in response to the more historically accurate The Promise.Save your brain cells. Do not watch this steaming pile.And if Ben Kingsley reads this review, shame on you sir. Your career is filled with many amazing performances. You have made us laugh with your comedic roles, made us deeply feel with your dramatic roles, and made us examine history with your 'non-fictional' roles. And with this role, you have appalled many of us by trying to present bald propaganda as historical fact.
rashaalkallas Very fake movie trying to clean the killers and make the events look like regular war between two sides
ravitchn I am amazed that this movie could deal with the background of the Ottoman Turkish genocide of the Armenians in eastern Anatolia without ever coming to grips with what really happened. The movie deals with the early days of WWI in Anatolia, with a large Armenian population which is clearly headed for death and also a Kurdish population in the service of the Ottoman government which is never mentioned. The real culprits here are the Russians, described as brutal savages and Cosacks (which they were but that is a partial view) and some of the Turks, but not of course the Ottoman lieutenant whose allegiance wavers between his nationalism and his love for an American nurse. Love wins out, as does death and genocide.I am wondering if Armenians in America and elsewhere are complaining about a movie which is somewhat pro-Turkish and not at all sympathetic really to the Armenian cause. This is a complicated subject and both sides, Armenians and Turks, are guilty of much but the victims were largely Armenians and they get most of the sympathy in real life, except for those countries trying to make nice with the Turks. But the movie prefers a romance to historic truth. That can be OK but surely not for everyone.The movie manages neutrality between victims and murderers but the romance helps you to ignore this, if you are not of Armenian heritage.