The Armenian blacksmith Nazaret dies twice in Fatih Akin's new film THE CUT. Both times he was working on the railroad under terrible conditions. The first time he was forced by the Turkish police to work building a road to Baghdad, a strategically important line between Istanbul and Baghdad, also used to deport Armenians during the genocide. A Turkish civilian prisoner is forced by an Ottoman official to execute the Armenian workers by slitting their throats. The second time he dies he is working on building the railway in North America. There he is beaten to death by another worker when he tries to stop a Native American woman from being raped. He already stood by helpless as an Armenian woman was raped. If he had intervened the first time, he would have been shot by a Turkish officer. But the second time around was no different. Nazaret was up against six men with weapons and he didn't have a chance.

Fatih Akin's epic film THE CUT could have ended after both scenes. The Turks killed the Armenians; the Americans massacred the Native Americans. Whoever is strong kills the weaker one out of hate, contempt, or everyday malice. After HEAD ON and THE EDGE OF HEAVEN, THE CUT is the last of Akin's trilogy “Liebe, Tod und Teufel.”
Akin's hero is resurrected both times. It's not a coincidence that the blacksmith is named Nazaret. After having his throat cut, the prisoner says to him, “I may be a thief but I've never killed anyone.” The cut did however leave Nazaret without a voice. His odyssey to find his daughters takes him across continents. It is the story of an Armenian survivor of the genocide but also the story of a man who had his death on screen. What follows is the dream of a dead man, a fight with the devil, a journey into Hades. In this manner, the film stays true to the story of immigration in the 20th century.

Fatih Akin's heroes maintain their humanity despite being victims of violent global political and economic processes. Nazaret encounters decent people: the Turkish thief who left him alive, a crew of Turkish army deserters who find him water and food, an Arab soap manufacturer who turns his factory into a refugee camp, an English teacher in an orphanage in Lebanon, and an Armenian hair stylist in Cuba – all help Nazaret on his journey.
The production of this film was big. Akin's first English-language film and was shot in Jordan, Cuba and Canada in the tradition of epic Hollywood dramas.

Tom Dorow