''The Lark Farm'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''La masseria delle allodole'') is a

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Paolo Taviani (; born 8 November 1931) and Vittorio Taviani (; 20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on film productions. At the C ...

about the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

Plot

The story, drawn from ''La masseria delle allodole'', the best-selling novel by

Antonia Arslan Antonia Arslan ( hy, Անտոնիա Արսլան, born 1938) is an Italian writer and academic of Armenian origin. Biography Arslan was born in Padua in 1938 to Michele Arslan and Vittoria Marchiori. Her paternal grandfather Yerwant Arslanian ...

, tells about the Avakian clan, an Armenian family living in Turkey and having two houses. The Avakians feel convinced that the rising tide of Turkish hostility on the horizon means little to them and will scarcely affect their day-to-day lives. The Avakians do not pay attention to the warning signs, and set about preparing for a family reunion with the impending visit of two well-to-do sons - landowner Aram, who resides in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, and Assadour, a physician living in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. These illusions come crashing down when a Turkish military regiment crops up at the house, annihilates every male member of the family and forces the ladies to trek off into the Syrian desert, where they will be left to rot. With them goes one of the little boys of the family, who was dressed as a girl in order not to be killed. Along the journey, the Turks continue to commit horrible atrocities, including forcing an Armenian mother to crush her newborn baby son to death. Meanwhile, a handsome Turkish officer (

Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu (; was born in Munich, Munich, Germany on August 13, 1971. He has worked over the years as a film actor, voice actor, and film director. Bleibtreu has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Exp ...

) falls in love with Aram's daughter and makes an aggressive attempt to deliver her from certain death, even as the circumstances surrounding him attest to the astounding difficulty of doing so. Upon being given orders to burn the women alive, he chooses to behead her.

Cast

Paz Vega María de la Paz Campos Trigos (born 2 January 1976), known professionally as Paz Vega (), is a Spanish actress. She became popular for her performance in comedy television series '' 7 vidas''. Her film credits include ''Sex and Lucia'' (2001) ...

as Nunik *

as young officer *

Alessandro Preziosi Alessandro Preziosi (born 19 April 1973) is an Italian actor. Biography Son of lawyers, Preziosi was born and raised in Avellino, Italy, later moving to nearby Vomero, Naples. He completed his classical studies at the Liceo Umberto I of Naple ...

as Egon *

Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...

as Ismene *

Arsinée Khanjian Arsinée Khanjian (Western Armenian: Արսինէ Խանճեան, Eastern Armenian: Արսինե Խանջյան; born 6 September 1958) is an Armenian-Canadian actress and activist. She is widely known for her collaborations with her husband, fi ...

as Armineh Avakian *

Mohammed Bakri Mohammad Bakri (born 1953; ar, محمد بكري, he, מוחמד בכרי) is a Palestinian actor and film director.Tchéky Karyo Tchéky Karyo (; born 4 October 1953) is a French actor and musician of Turkish origin. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary works, he began to work as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He has acted in nu ...

as Aram Avakian *

Mariano Rigillo Mariano Rigillo (born 12 September 1939) is an Italian actor. Biography In the 1960s, Rigillo attended the Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career on stage playing roles in plays by William Shakespeare, Carlo Go ...

as Assadour *

Hristo Shopov Hristo Naumov Shopov ( bg, Христо Наумов Шопов; born 4 January 1964) is a Bulgarian actor. Shopov's father, Naum Shopov, was a famous Bulgarian actor as well. He is most noted for his 2004 portrayal of Pontius Pilate in Mel Gi ...

as Isman * Hristo Zhivkov as Sarkis *

André Dussollier André Dussollier (born 17 February 1946) is a French actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as fi ...

as Col. Arkan *

Yvonne Sciò Yvonne Brulatour Sciò (born 25 July 1969) is an Italian model and actress. Biography Born in Rome, Sciò started her career as a runway model in the late 1980s. Following her acting debut in the Sergio Martino's TV-series ''Rally'' in 1988, she ...

as Livia

External links

* * 2007 drama films 2007 films Armenian genocide films Italian drama films 2000s Italian-language films Films directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani 2000s Italian films {{Armenia-genocide-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

External links