''Mayrig'' (''Mother'') is a 1991 semi-autobiographical film 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 International ...

. 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 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

of 1915. For the film's main soundtrack, Verneuil used the traditional Armenian song " Dle Yaman". 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 Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

for his 1921 Assassination of Talat Pasha, 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, television and film. She is best known for her role in the 1991 films '' My Father's Glory'' and ''My Mother's Castle''. Filmography *'' Les violons du bal'' (1974) .... L ...

: Gayane, Azad's aunt * Isabelle Sadoyan : Anna, Azad's aunt * Jacky Nercessian : Apkar, family friend * Serge Avedikian : Vasken Papazian * Michèle Bardollet : Madeleine * Christian Barbier : Father Pignon * Denis Podalydès : Soghomon Tehlirian * Patrick Timsit : Garbis * Ticky Holgado: Racist neighbour * Jean-Pierre Delage : Dr. Philibert * Nicolas Silberg : Lawyer *

Ève Ruggieri Ève Ruggieri (born 13 March 1939) is a French actress, producer, and author. Publications *''L'honneur retrouvé du marquis de Montespan'', Perrin, 1993 *''Mozart, l'itinéraire sentimental'', J'ai Lu, 1999 *''Quelques femmes remarquables'', ...

: 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 * Ce ...

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 Patrick Fiori (; born Patrick Jean-François Chouchayan, 23 September 1969) is a French singer of Armenian descent. Biography Beginnings Fiori was born to a French-Armenian father (Jacques Chouchayan) and a Corsican mother (Marie Antoinette F ...

with French singer of Comorian descent Soprano.

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