Film students should see this film, not necessarily for its qualities (or lack of..)

Rating: 4/10 (21 June 2020)

The data provided by IMDb's web page for this film indicates that it had an estimated budget of 40 million Dollars but it generated revenues of less than one million Dollars. I feel pity for the producers, because obviously many good intentions were intended at the start, and certain themes brought forward were really interesting, such as:
-At the beginning of the last century, a strong willed woman seeks charitable work overseas;
-A love story between an American (Christian) woman and a Turkish (Muslim) soldier;
-Real effort was done in recreating the context of events (filming locations, historical background)
-Very good casting of the three main characters (the nurse, the young doctor, the soldier)
-The theme that in wars it is never totally black or white, and too often individuals are swept by events and are not free with their own choices (this idea is cleverly presented during a conversation between the young doctor and the nurse).
So what went wrong?
-Some of the dialogue is poorly written and is a bit "cliché'd"
-Many situations are left without closure (the nurse never writes to her parents even though she grew in a house that values compassion and caring for the less fortunate: She seems to be solely guided by the memory of her late brother even though her parents effectively prepared her for her life choices / the nurse does not tell the doctors how she saved the day by letting Turkish soldiers out of the church / the doctors are not told that the Lieutenant saved a group of Armenians at the risk of his life);
-Sir Ben Kingsley is wasted here, though he tried to make the best of the very few lines he was given;
The major flaw in the film is the way it was directed: It drags on and appears slow time and again, cohesion seems lacking, and no real effort or passion seems to have been invested in presenting a sweeping love story in a particular historical setting despite all the material that was available (good story, top actors, location). The film is partially saved by its cinematography and its convincing three lead characters.
One final word on the historical context: The film does not pretend to present an accurate account of the tragedies that played out during those times (especially the full scale of the horrible Armenian genocide) however and as stated earlier it is about individuals caught in circumstances over which they had no control whatsoever. I wish I could give it more than 4 stars, I feel sorry because the film could have been much, much better.