While the title of this film is "The Ottoman Lieutenant," the protagonist is in fact Miss Lillie Rowe, the strong-willed young woman from Philadelphia, who visits Eastern Turkey in 1914, determined to deliver a truck and medical supplies to an American Christian mission hospital outside the city of Van.
Miss Rowe has witnessed the racism in Philadelphia that segregates hospitals, and she finds herself in Turkey in the middle of two men who love her, one a Christian (Dr. Jude Fisher) and one a Muslim (Lieutenant Ismail Veli of the Ottoman Imperial Army). She also finds herself in the broader conflict of the Muslims interacting with the Christian Armenian population in Eastern Turkey.
The film combines romance and history in an epic style with breathtaking vistas and landscapes in Turkey. Two of the most spectacular scenes were a glimpse of Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) and the picturesque island of Ahtamar, as Miss Rowe was introduced to Turkey by the Ottoman Lieutenant. The film also made use of documentary footage from World War I and voice-over narration delivered by Miss Rowe to explain how Turkey sided with the Germany in World War I and faced an invasion from Russia.
The senior physician at the mission, Dr. Woodruff, seems fatalistic that the medical facility might only serve as triage. By contrast, Miss Rowe genuinely believes that she can make a difference. She even sets Dr. Woodruff right in assisting him out of his depression and addiction to ether. He had suffered the loss of his wife to typhus, and, with the guidance of the idealistic Miss Rowe, he finally emerges from his indolence.
The background on the Armenian genocide is developed haphazardly throughout the film. We learn from Dr. Jude Fisher that "this war in Europe will split the country down the middle." But there is only a vague sense of the Armenian slaughter that decimated the Armenian population in the early part of the war. The filmmakers would have us believe that the Turkish army was primarily intent on eliminating the Armenian "rebels" who had gone over the side of the Russians. It is not until the ethically minded Ottoman Lieutenant takes a stand against civilian killings at the end that we get a glimpse into the atrocities committed against the Armenians at large.
Overall, the film primarily develops the romantic narrative in the unfolding love triangle of Lille Rowe, Dr. Jude Fisher, and Lieutenant Ismail Veli. While the relationships were clearly developed, the film gave short shrift to the emerging passionate relationship of Miss Rowe and Lieutenant Veli. In the most intense scene, the Lieutenant stops and asks Miss Rowe, "Are you sure?" That is a definite sign of lack of confidence not only on the part of the lieutenant, but by the filmmakers in handling the romantic content of their movie. And when Miss Rowe has to prompt her lieutenant to kiss her by asking what is the word kiss (Buse) in Turkish, the audience is genuinely concerned that the direction of this romantic relationship may not run a smooth course.
There was a nice touch on the part of the filmmakers in developing a broader them of spirituality. When the Lieutenant takes Miss Rowe into the Blue Mosque in Constantinople, she asserts that "it's like being inside God's thoughts." That non-demoninational statement is effectively developed as a spiritual theme that joins the two characters in their quest to serve humanity in a time of crisis.
Miss Rowe has witnessed the racism in Philadelphia that segregates hospitals, and she finds herself in Turkey in the middle of two men who love her, one a Christian (Dr. Jude Fisher) and one a Muslim (Lieutenant Ismail Veli of the Ottoman Imperial Army). She also finds herself in the broader conflict of the Muslims interacting with the Christian Armenian population in Eastern Turkey.
The film combines romance and history in an epic style with breathtaking vistas and landscapes in Turkey. Two of the most spectacular scenes were a glimpse of Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) and the picturesque island of Ahtamar, as Miss Rowe was introduced to Turkey by the Ottoman Lieutenant. The film also made use of documentary footage from World War I and voice-over narration delivered by Miss Rowe to explain how Turkey sided with the Germany in World War I and faced an invasion from Russia.
The senior physician at the mission, Dr. Woodruff, seems fatalistic that the medical facility might only serve as triage. By contrast, Miss Rowe genuinely believes that she can make a difference. She even sets Dr. Woodruff right in assisting him out of his depression and addiction to ether. He had suffered the loss of his wife to typhus, and, with the guidance of the idealistic Miss Rowe, he finally emerges from his indolence.
The background on the Armenian genocide is developed haphazardly throughout the film. We learn from Dr. Jude Fisher that "this war in Europe will split the country down the middle." But there is only a vague sense of the Armenian slaughter that decimated the Armenian population in the early part of the war. The filmmakers would have us believe that the Turkish army was primarily intent on eliminating the Armenian "rebels" who had gone over the side of the Russians. It is not until the ethically minded Ottoman Lieutenant takes a stand against civilian killings at the end that we get a glimpse into the atrocities committed against the Armenians at large.
Overall, the film primarily develops the romantic narrative in the unfolding love triangle of Lille Rowe, Dr. Jude Fisher, and Lieutenant Ismail Veli. While the relationships were clearly developed, the film gave short shrift to the emerging passionate relationship of Miss Rowe and Lieutenant Veli. In the most intense scene, the Lieutenant stops and asks Miss Rowe, "Are you sure?" That is a definite sign of lack of confidence not only on the part of the lieutenant, but by the filmmakers in handling the romantic content of their movie. And when Miss Rowe has to prompt her lieutenant to kiss her by asking what is the word kiss (Buse) in Turkish, the audience is genuinely concerned that the direction of this romantic relationship may not run a smooth course.
There was a nice touch on the part of the filmmakers in developing a broader them of spirituality. When the Lieutenant takes Miss Rowe into the Blue Mosque in Constantinople, she asserts that "it's like being inside God's thoughts." That non-demoninational statement is effectively developed as a spiritual theme that joins the two characters in their quest to serve humanity in a time of crisis.