Especially in the West , several critics criticized the film for perpetuating the denial of the Armenian Genocide . In his review for '' Variety '' Dennis Harvey writes , " In this primarily Turkish-funded production , the historical , political , ethnic and other intricacies — not to mention that perpetual elephant in the room , the Armenian Genocide , which commenced in 1915 — are glossed over in favor of a generalized ' Whattaya gon na do … war is bad ' aura that implies conscience without actually saying anything . " In his review of the film for '' Slant Magazine '' , Keith Watson writes , " More conspicuous than The Ottoman Lieutenant 's rote melodrama is the way the film elides the concurrent genocide of ethnic Armenians by Ottoman forces , a historical reality which the Turkish government continues to deny to this day . " , while critic Roger Moore called '' The Ottoman Lieutenant '' " a botched love-triangle romance set against a revisionist account of the Turkish Armenian Genocide . " On March 7 , 2017 , the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States issued a statement , urging the public not to watch the film in theaters or support it in any way . “ We do feel it is important for our community to be aware of the fact that genocide denial is present and still a major issue , even outside of the Republic of Turkey , ” read a part of the statement . The American Hellenic Council accused the film of being made as a rival of '' The Promise '' and argued for boycotting '' The Ottoman Lieutenant ''
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Ottoman Lieutenant