Love amidst genocide and war

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2017)

I am amazed that this movie could deal with the background of the Ottoman Turkish genocide of the Armenians in eastern Anatolia without ever coming to grips with what really happened. The movie deals with the early days of WWI in Anatolia, with a large Armenian population which is clearly headed for death and also a Kurdish population in the service of the Ottoman government which is never mentioned. The real culprits here are the Russians, described as brutal savages and Cosacks (which they were but that is a partial view) and some of the Turks, but not of course the Ottoman lieutenant whose allegiance wavers between his nationalism and his love for an American nurse. Love wins out, as does death and genocide.
I am wondering if Armenians in America and elsewhere are complaining about a movie which is somewhat pro-Turkish and not at all sympathetic really to the Armenian cause. This is a complicated subject and both sides, Armenians and Turks, are guilty of much but the victims were largely Armenians and they get most of the sympathy in real life, except for those countries trying to make nice with the Turks. But the movie prefers a romance to historic truth. That can be OK but surely not for everyone.
The movie manages neutrality between victims and murderers but the romance helps you to ignore this, if you are not of Armenian heritage.