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Khachik
at 19:52, 16 Nov 2005
Posts: 2
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Question about the music used in YES
Dear Sally
I just saw YES and I loved it. I also loved the music used in the movie and I wanted to ask a couple of questions about it. Did you know that tracks 5 and 13 on the soundtrack are Armenian melodies and the instrument, called Duduk, used in the movie is an Armenian instrument? If you did, why did you use it to represent Lebanese culture? I want to thank you beforhand for answering these questions and I want to mention once again that YES is a wonderful movie and I look forward to seeing more of your movies.
Thank you,
Khachik
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at 12:07, 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 0
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Armenian music
I am glad you enjoyed the film.
Yes, I was well aware of the Armenian melodies...in fact I chose them from a selection suggested by my Armenian advisors. I first was introduced to the glories of the duduk on a trip to Yerevan in 1984 as part of a film delegation. I bought as many LPs as i could find there that featured this heartbreakingly beautiful instrument and played them many many times. So it was as part of a long-term love affair with the instrument that I finally was able also to suggest using it on the arrangement by Gonzalo Grau of 'El Carreterro", a piece normally associated only with latin culture.
So why all these Armenian references ? In an earlier draft of the script "HE" was Armenian (not unrelated to the fact that Simon Abkarian, who I had already cast, is himself Armenian). As the script evolved, his specific cultural and religious identity shifted. In the final film it is, deliberately, never revealed; other then that he comes from Beirut.
On a research trip to Beirut to look for locations we decided to film in the Armenian quarter (for the sequence when HE visits his friend, the doctor who stayed). But then we could not film there when Iraq was invaded as we became uninsurable, so we had to find locations that closely resembled Beirut in Havana. But the character of the friend remained Armenian, and the party (where we see HE dancing, rather reluctantly) is following a baptism, though that too is implied rather than spelt out. But that is why the music there is Armenian.
Beirut, as I understand it from Simon and from many other Lebanese I have talked with, is culturally very fluid and complex. Simon grew up with friends of many faiths and mixed identities. It is some of that quality I tried to capture. So the music does not 'represent' the Lebanon but simply expresses some of the complexities of the characters' cultural roots, or even their affinities.
Another point might be this : I am English but I can love music from Argentina - the tango- and dance to it ,as it seems to express some of who I am, even though the music is not 'mine'.
Thank you for the questions. It is lovely when people hear and see specific nuances in the film and want to know more, and you are right to check if the musical choices were made awarely.
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sally potter
at 14:48, 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 193
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Armenian music
I am glad you enjoyed the film.
Yes, I was well aware of the Armenian melodies...in fact I chose them from a selection suggested by my Armenian advisors. I first was introduced to the glories of the duduk on a trip to Yerevan in 1984 as part of a film delegation. I bought as many LPs as i could find there that featured this heartbreakingly beautiful instrument and played them many many times. So it was as part of a long-term love affair with the instrument that I finally was able also to suggest using it on the arrangement by Gonzalo Grau of 'El Carreterro", a piece normally associated only with latin culture.
So why all these Armenian references ? In an earlier draft of the script "HE" was Armenian (not unrelated to the fact that Simon Abkarian, who I had already cast, is himself Armenian). As the script evolved, his specific cultural and religious identity shifted. In the final film it is, deliberately, never revealed; other then that he comes from Beirut.
On a research trip to Beirut to look for locations we decided to film in the Armenian quarter (for the sequence when HE visits his friend, the doctor who stayed). But then we could not film there when Iraq was invaded as we became uninsurable, so we had to find locations that closely resembled Beirut in Havana. But the character of the friend remained Armenian, and the party (where we see HE dancing, rather reluctantly) is following a baptism, though that too is implied rather than spelt out. But that is why the music there is Armenian.
Beirut, as I understand it from Simon and from many other Lebanese I have talked with, is culturally very fluid and complex. Simon grew up with friends of many faiths and mixed identities. It is some of that quality I tried to capture. So the music does not 'represent' the Lebanon but simply expresses some of the complexities of the characters' cultural roots, or even their affinities.
Another point might be this : I am English but I can love music from Argentina - the tango- and dance to it ,as it seems to express some of who I am, even though the music is not 'mine'.
Thank you for the questions. It is lovely when people hear and see specific nuances in the film and want to know more, and you are right to check if the musical choices were made awarely.
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Khachik
at 19:13, 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 2
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Thank You
Dear Sally
Thank you for answering my questions very explicitly. When I was thinking about it, a lot of reasons went through my mind as to why you used Armenian music, including the ones you mentioned in your reply, but I wanted to know what were YOUR reasons for doing so. At first I considered the possibility that HE might be Armenian since he didn't say what nationality he was but only said that he was from Beirut (there is a big Armenian community in Beirut). But later I found out that that wasn't the case as HE started expressing some of his views. The thing is that a lot of people do not know about Armenian culture and they might not realize that the music is Armenian. Anyway, I am glad that you like Duduk because it is my favorite instrument. I am also glad that you have visited Armenia and know about Armenian culture.
I have another question that has nothing to do with the movie YES. This might sound silly, because he is a very important figure in the history of movies, but I want to know if you are familiar with Sergei Parajanov and his work? If you are, how important do you think he and his work are in the history of cinema and would you say that he is one of the 10 best directors of all time? Also, did Parajanov or his work have any influence on your work in general?
Thank you,
Khachik
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sally potter
at 07:26, 20 Nov 2005
Posts: 193
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Paradjanov
I love his work, especially 'The Colour of Pomegranates". Anyone who has seen such richly image-driven work cannot fail to be influenced by it.
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Hayklass
at 17:08, 4 Mar 2006
Posts: 1
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The Great Deception
Sally
I think your judgment stinks.
All my life, I make people understand that Armenians are very different than Arabs (especially to Canadians & Americans who aren’t really educated on who we really are). If I never heard of Armenians and I watched your movie, I would conclude that it is somehow an Arabic country.
I know there are many Armenian communities in various Arabic countries; now I don't want to get there because it will become much more complicated.
To my opinion, you shouldn't have used those 2 pieces of music in your film because they have a very unique signature sound to Armenians culture. HE was an Arabic Muslim dancing Armenian in Beirut? Go and figure it out?
Your example on you being an English person that loves dancing the tango was very poor and it gives me an idea of how intelligent you are. Everybody dance tango. It’s an international dance you know.
Anyways, I am very very disappointed with the musical part of the film but the rest was fabulous.
You mixed the Armenian culture with your character who really was Arab which was a terrible mistake. Simon Abkarian should be ashamed.
Hayk “Hayklass” Martirossian
Producer/Composer
Montreal, Canada.
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at 05:59, 5 Mar 2006
Posts: 0
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reply
The strength of your language shows very clearly the force of your feeling about what it is to be an Armenian, and the enormous difficulty of dealing with the mis-information of those around you and in the world as a whole about Armenian history and identity. I have come to appreciate, from responses from so many Armenians to the film (including those who performed in it) that the ambiguity in the characterisation of the identity of HE in the story can be provocative and confusing.
In the development of the script, as I described in the message above and elsewhere on this site in response to other questions from Armenians, the precise definition of the national and cultural identity of HE shifted from definitively Armenian (in earlier drafts) to remaining undefined in the final film. It was something we all discussed endlessly during the process of making the film. Was it better to say what HE was, or would it be more useful to leave the question open?
In the end the decision was to leave the question open so that people would have to ask themselves what they saw in this man, what they projected on him, what they expected of him, just as SHE does. Another feeling was that, for example if he said at one point 'I am Armenian', those people for whom the Muslim world is only a source of terror, would breathe a sigh of relief and say to themselves, oh, that's alright then, that explains why HE is vulnerable, intelligent, human, not a monster.
But just as nowhere is it stated that HE is Armenian,also nowhere is it stated that he is Arab or Muslim. HE defends Islam at one point (in the kitchen scene) and he asks SHE if she has read the Koran. These are the statements and questions of someone who sees the ignorance of the West about anyone from 'over there' (as HE puts it at one point), and who finds himself defending sometimes even something he is not. My hope was that the effect of the ambiguity about his identity might stimulate viewers of the film who did not know much about the finer points of difference of culture, religion, history and geography of his part of the world (and the Lebanon in particular) to find out more. Certainly in my travels around the world with the film, this has been the case. I think anything that stimulates people to find out more - including, for example, the history of Armenians in Beirut- is a good thing. It is true that not eveyone recognises the music as Armenian, but they do recognise it as beautiful, and want to find out more. if they buy the CD they will find it described accurately .I am proud to have included Armenian music in the film, to have shown some Armenian dancing,and to have worked with Armenian actors, dancers and musicians.
Whilst I welcome your questions and have at least some understanding of how crucial it is to spread truth about Armenian history and identity (anyone who has seen Atom Egoyan's 'Ararat' will have been helped with this) and therefore also understand the angry tone of your message, I must however refute you very stongly on two points.
First, you are wrong about the tango. It is not an international dance nor does 'everybody' dance it. I worked closely with Argentineans making 'The Tango Lesson' and learned how closely the music and the dance is linked with their sense of who and what they are. I saw how its popularity elsewhere in the world (including, i know, in Montreal) can be a double-edged sword.
Secondly, Simon Abkarian has nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of, as a man, an Armenian and an actor. I have heard him speak again and again on questions of Armenian history to journalists and others; he helped me enormously in my researches and understanding of Beirut (where I travelled with him) and he tackled a complex role carrying with it great responsibilities, with fine intelligence and courage. All the final decisions in the script and the finished film are mine and I take full responsibility for them (including the ambiguity of identity of his character). A slur on Simon's integrity is completely unacceptable, adds nothing to the debate , and undermines your own arguments.
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sally potter
at 06:02, 5 Mar 2006
Posts: 193
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previous message
The previous message was written by me, Sally Potter. For some reason my name did not appear next to it. This is a technical glitch that occurs from time to time.
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Brian Young
at 19:31, 5 Mar 2006
Posts: 28
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Awareness of Armenian History
This assumption that HE is Arab, and Muslim, continues to show its face, and, in this instance, seems to be the expression of someone who suffers from the tendency to prejudge, which he at the same time accuses others of doing. Nothing in this film suggests that HE is Arab and Muslim, and coming to that conclusion in such a fierce and angry manner suggests that somebody's critical faculties are not working.
This has been discussed in other posts on this website. I saw YES for the fourth time last night, and the magic has not worn off. Earlier posts on this particular subject led me down a road of discovery. I bought two books that deal with Armenian history: Black Dog of fate, and The Burning Tigris, both by Peter Balakian. Admittedly these are just a beginning, but I would strongly recommend them to anyone who has a positive attitude about learning history.
Armenian history has been downplayed in the west, and that will continue as long as the beast needs Turkish territory to carry out its military domination of the middle east.
Neither Sally Potter or Simon Abkarian have any reason to apologize for a great artistic achievement. This film will, because of the debate taking place on this website, probably have more influence on the growing awareness of the history of the Armenians than any other thing I could think of. It has certainly inspired me to learn all that I can about this page of history that has been so conveniently, for political reasons, kept in the shadows.
Brian Young
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