It is a mess, cramming in every inflammatory ethnic item on this Canadian-Armenian director's agenda. Egoyan has dedicated so much time and feeling to the historical wounds of his race that the emotion is festering.

Because of Egoyan's astute, cool intellectual powers and directorial finesse, the film cannot be quickly dismissed, especially if you're an Egoyan disciple. You do become concerned about the characters . . and the issues. If only you could feel them.

There's no doubting that this is a highly ambitious and personal project for Egoyan, but it's also one that, next to his best work, feels clumsy and convoluted.

A disappointingly convoluted attempt to present the 1915 Armenian genocide through an intergenerational family melodrama.