YEREVAN (Realist English). Sarkis Tsaturyan, founder of the Armenian movement Ashkharozhokhov, praised the new historical film Artavazd II: Between Rome and Parthia, describing it as both a vivid cinematic experience and a powerful tool for national education.
Currently screening in cinemas across Armenia, the film portrays the tragic fate of King Artavazd II of Greater Armenia, who in the first century BCE sought to preserve his country’s independence while caught between two empires. Tsaturyan, writing after viewing the premiere, described the movie as “a combination of historical documentary and artistic brilliance.”
“It was so compelling that I wished for longer dialogues and a deeper exploration of the stoic Armenian king’s character,” he wrote. Artavazd, in Tsaturyan’s view, emerges as both a calculated strategist and a martyr for the Armenian nation. “With his sacrificial love, which did not bend before the predators of Rome, Artavazd reminded me in the final moments of Jesus Christ,” he noted.
Tsaturyan expressed his gratitude to director Tigran Manasyan and encouraged audiences to support Armenian cinema. “Go see it — and take your children. It’s important that they feel the greatness of their past at an early age. I believe we are on the right path.”
The film is showing in Yerevan (cinemas Moskva, Cinema Star at Dalma Mall, and Kino Park at Yerevan Mall), as well as in Gyumri, Razdan, Vanadzor, and Kapan.
Artavazd II: Between Rome and Parthia offers more than historical spectacle. It reinterprets Armenian history through a modern moral lens, portraying Artavazd not just as a figure of the past but as a living symbol of national dignity — especially relevant amid external pressure and ongoing struggles for civilizational self-definition.
