''Mayrig'' (''Mother'') is a 1991 semi-autobiographical

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

written and directed by French-Armenian filmmaker

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno Internationa ...

. The film's principal cast includes

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

and

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

as parents of Azad (Henri Verneuil depicted as child). Mayrig means mother in Armenian. The film is about the struggles of an Armenian family that emigrates to France from Turkey after 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 ...

of 1915. For the film's main soundtrack, Verneuil used the traditional Armenian song "

Dle Yaman "Dle Yaman" (in Armenian Դլե Յաման, in Western Armenian Տըլէ Եաման) also francicized "Délé Yaman" is an Armenian traditional tune. It is the story of a tragic love affair between two persons. It was discovered by Father Komitas in ...

". Following the film's success, Verneuil edited the movie into a television series. He followed that up with '' 588 rue paradis'', a sequel to the original movie.

Synopsis

The film opens with the court process of Soghomon Tehlirian who was being tried in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

for his 1921

Assassination of Talat Pasha On 15 March 1921, Armenian student Soghomon Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha—former grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire and the main architect of the Armenian genocide—in Berlin. At his trial, Tehlirian argued, "I have killed a man, bu ...

, one of the plotters of the

. This introduces the viewer to the arrival of the Armenian Zakarian family fleeing persecution in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

to refuge in Marseilles, France. The film recounts the biography of Azad Zakarian and his parents and aunts, taking us in a 20 year journey of the family facing tough times as refugees. This is based on the memories of Azad (actually Henri Verneuil himself) starting from a six-year-old kid with many flashbacks to the period of genocide in Turkey. Azad also tells us about difficulties of integrating in French society with hostile attitudes of the French towards the refugees (neighbour who refuse to give access to the common kitchen prohibiting the family of cooking its food, the owner of the lodging blaming them for bringing bedbugs to the facility, heavy bullying of Azad in school, mocking of the Catholic priest of Azad's Armenian Christian beliefs, difficulty of finding work for the family members, language issues, etc.

Cast

: Araxi (Mayrig), Azad's mother *

: Hagop, Azad's father * Cédric Doucet : Azad Zakarian (7 years old) * Tom Poncin : Azad Zakarian (12 years old) * Stéphane Servais : Azad Zakarian (20 years old) * Richard Berry : Azad Zakarian's voice (narrator) *

Nathalie Roussel Nathalie Roussel (born 14 September 1956) is a French actress of stage (theatre), stage, television and film. She is best known for her role in the 1991 films ''My Father's Glory (film), My Father's Glory'' and ''My Mother's Castle''. Filmography ...

: Gayane, Azad's aunt *

Isabelle Sadoyan Isabelle Sadoyan (12 May 1928 – 10 July 2017) was a French-Armenian actress. She was the wife of actor Jean Bouise. Her filmography includes films by Jeanne Moreau, Claude Chabrol, Claude Lelouch, Luc Besson, Jean-Luc Godard, Henri Verneuil, Be ...

: Anna, Azad's aunt *

Jacky Nercessian Jacky Nercessian (or ''Nersessian'' ( hy, Ժաքի Ներսեսյան), born November 16, 1950) is a French actor who is ethnically Armenian. One of his most known roles is Apkar in '' Mayrig'' by Henri Verneuil. Biography Nercessian was born ...

: Apkar, family friend * Serge Avedikian : Vasken Papazian * Michèle Bardollet : Madeleine *

Christian Barbier Christian Barbier (28 June 1924 – 3 November 2009) was a French film and television actor. Barbier was born at Saint-Ouen, Seine (currently Seine-Saint-Denis), France. During his career (1964 to 1997), he specialized in drama rather ...

: Father Pignon *

Denis Podalydès Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and scriptwriter of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more than 140 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in '' The Officers' Ward'', which was entered into the 2001 Can ...

: Soghomon Tehlirian *

Patrick Timsit Patrick Timsit () is a French comedian, writer and film director. He has been nominated for four César Awards – three times as an actor and once as a writer. He is best known for the French comedy '' Un indien dans la ville''. In 2006, he p ...

: Garbis *

Ticky Holgado Ticky Holgado (24 June 1944, in Toulouse – 22 January 2004, in Paris), pseudonym of Joseph Holgado, was a French actor and a frequent collaborator with Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With ''Delicatessen'' (1991) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Ticky ...

: Racist neighbour * Jean-Pierre Delage : Dr. Philibert * Nicolas Silberg : Lawyer * Ève Ruggieri : Herself

Reception

The film has a 95% rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

Awards and nominations

*''Mayrig'' received a

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

nomination for Jean-Claude Petit's original score. *''Mayrig'' also won an Academy Award by the National Academy of Cinema, France, in 1991.

In popular culture

Certain scenes of the film were used in the music video for "Chez nous (Plan d'Aou, Air Bel)" by French singer of Armenian descent Patrick Fiori with French singer of Comorian descent

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

References

Biography of director Henri Verneuil

External links

* 1991 films 1991 drama films 1990s French-language films French drama films Films about playwrights Films about immigration Armenian genocide films Films directed by Henri Verneuil 1990s French films {{1990s-France-film-stub