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Ali and Nino (film)

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Ali and Nino
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Directed byAsif Kapadia
Written byChristopher Hampton
Based onAli and Nino
by Kurban Said
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGökhan Tiryaki
Edited byAlexander Berner
Music byDario Marianelli[1]
Production
companies
Release dates
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUK
Language
Budget$20 million [3]

Ali and Nino is a 2016 British-Azerbaijani war film, based on Kurban Said's 1937 novel of the same name. The film is written by Christopher Hampton[4] and directed by Asif Kapadia.[5] It stars Maria Valverde[6] and Adam Bakri.[7]

Plot

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During the Russian Empire, Ali and Nino fall in love. Ali is a Muslim from Azerbaijan who lives in the oil-rich city of Baku, in the family's Shirvanshir Palace. Nino is a Georgian Orthodox Christian whose wealthy Kipiani family also lives in Baku. Ali's friend, Malik, agrees to help bring the aristocratic parents to accept a marriage. World War I breaks out in Europe.

Malik and Nino go to the opera, while Ali and Nino agree to secretly meet afterward. Armenian Malik has also fallen in love with Nino and kidnaps her planning his own marriage to her. Prince Ali confronts and kills Malik with a dagger. Ali is injured during the fight and escapes to Dagestan to heal and hide out from Malik's powerful Nachararyan family. The Russian Revolution deposes Nicholas II of Russia.

Tamar is afraid no one will ever marry her daughter Nino and plans to send her to Moscow. Others have their own plans. Ever loyal Mustafa reunites Nino and Ali in the mountains. After a night of lovemaking and with Nino's virginity gone, Ali yells out to call a Mullah. Mustafa assures the couple no priest is necessary for he can perform the marriage ceremony. Despite aristocratic childhoods, simple country life suits the newlyweds and they find true happiness. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic wins its own independence.

Ali returns to Baku and gets appointed Deputy Foreign Minister. He begins to raise his young family in a free homeland. The young country signs friendship treaties with its neighbors but they fear the Bolsheviks in Russia. Learning that the Russians have amassed 30,000 troops on the border, the Azerbaijan government flees by train. As Nino and their daughter head toward Paris, Ali jumps off the train and blows up the bridge. Nino is safe but Ali gets shot and killed defending his country.

Epilogue text states that Ali Khan Shirvanshir died aged 24, Prime Minister Fatali Khan was assassinated 6 weeks later, it was 71 years before, in 1991, Azerbaijan reclaimed its independence, and Nino and her daughter escaped to Paris, but never returned to Baku.

Cast

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Production

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Most of the film was shot in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Russia.[8]

Reception

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The film received mostly mixed-to-negative reviews. It holds a 40% rating on the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from a sample of 10 critics.[9] On Metacritic, the film holds 50 out of a 100 score, based on 4 critics.[10] The Los Angeles Times said, "Kapadia treats intimacy like exposition — time-passage updates mark every scene — leaving his leads to flounder against backdrops. There's zero chemistry or feeling to this sweeping, predictable endeavor, only the scent of what might have been."[11] Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com gave Ali and Nino 2.5 out of 5,[12] while CinaFilm gave the film 3 out of 5 (62%), based on 8 critical reviews.[13]

Ken Jaworowski of The New York Times said that "[the film], adapted by Christopher Hampton (Atonement [and] Dangerous Liaisons) and shot in Azerbaijan and Turkey, rarely chooses a complex emotion when a straightforward one will do, though it does seek out ornate and grand images. Sure, beauty only gets you so far, but here that's quite a long way."[14]

Ali and Nino was screened at the Sundance Film Festival where it was reviewed by Peter Debruge of the Variety Magazine, who said that "in this uneven return to fiction filmmaking, 'Amy' director Asif Kapadia struggles to convey the sense of tragedy that has made his documentaries so powerful".[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Dario Marianelli to Score Laika's 'Kubo and the Two Strings'". filmmusicreporter.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Ali & Nino". BBFC.
  3. ^ "Box office / business for Ali and Nino". imdb.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (9 January 2012). "Christopher Hampton to adapt 'Ali and Nino'". Variety. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (19 May 2013). "U.K. Director Asif Kapadia to Helm 'Ali and Nino' From PeaPie Films]". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Maria Valverde to star in 'Ali & Nino'". Yahoo!. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  7. ^ Елена Остапенко История любви Али и Нино вскоре появится на больших экранах [The History of Love of Ali and Nino Will Soon Arrive to the Big Screen]. 1news.az. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  8. ^ Jaafar, Ali (8 January 2015). "Maria Valverde Joins 'Ali & Nino'; Principal Photography To Begin In February". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Ali & Nino". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Ali and Nino". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  11. ^ Abele, Robert (17 November 2016). "Review Fiction proves challenging for director Asif Kapadia with WWI drama 'Ali and Nino'". Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  12. ^ Cheshire, Godfrey (18 November 2016). "Ali & Nino". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Ali and Nino (2016)". CinaFilm. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  14. ^ Jaworowski, Ken (17 November 2016). "Review: 'Ali and Nino', a Love Story Set Against Majestic Backdrops". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  15. ^ Debruge, Peter (5 February 2016). "Sundance Film Review: 'Ali and Nino'". Variety.
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