Ali and Nino (2016)
There is a certain romantic melancholy baked into the very source material of Ali and Nino. The 1937 novel of the same name, published under the pen name Kurban Said, has been attributed to various authors over the decades (the true identity of its writer remains genuinely disputed), but its story of a doomed cross-cultural love affair set against the collapse of the old Azerbaijani world has long held a cherished place in the literature of the Caucasus. Adapting it for the screen is no small task. The novel is set across a period of seismic change: the waning years of the Russian Empire, the chaos of the First World War, and the brief, turbulent window of Azerbaijani independence between 1918 and 1920, all centred on Baku, a city that was, at the time, producing roughly half the world's oil. That geopolitical backdrop gives the love story its weight, placing two young people from different cultures and faiths at the centre of a world that seems determined to pull them apart. It is rich material, the kind that invites comparisons to the great sweeping romances of world cinema.
Bringing it to the screen is Asif Kapadia, a director perhaps best known at this point for his documentary work. His films Senna (2010) and Amy (2015) earned him considerable acclaim and a BAFTA, establishing him as one of the more thoughtful British filmmakers working in non-fiction. Ali and Nino represents a relatively rare foray into narrative feature filmmaking for him, produced through a British-Azerbaijani co-production between PeaPie Films and AZ Celtic Films. The production brought the story back to the region where it is set, shooting on location in Georgia and Azerbaijan, which gives the film a textural authenticity that a studio-bound production simply could not have replicated. It is a polished but unremarkable production in terms of its commercial footprint, never quite finding the wide audience its ambitions might have warranted. For other films that have tried to capture the weight of a specific cultural moment through a personal story, Macca's review of Capernaum is worth a look, as is his take on You Will Die at Twenty, another film that uses a specific time and place to examine something more universal.
In the lead roles, Israeli-Palestinian actor Adam Bakri takes on Ali Khan Shirvanshir, the Muslim Azerbaijani prince at the heart of the story, while Spanish actress María Valverde plays Nino Kipiani, the Georgian Christian aristocrat he loves. Both actors carry a certain screen presence, and they are supported by a capable ensemble that includes Connie Nielsen as Nino's mother and the always watchable Mandy Patinkin in a more peripheral role. Bakri brings a quiet dignity to Ali that suits the character's sense of duty, and Valverde is a committed and capable performer. Whether the two of them together generate the kind of charged, believable connection that a romance of this scale demands is a fair question, and it is one that Macca addresses head-on in his review below.
Asif Kapadia’s 2016 historical romance Ali and Nino is no flawless cinematic masterpiece but it certainly has its moments. The film follows the tragic love story of Muslim prince Ali and Georgian aristocrat Nino, set against the tumultuous backdrop of the First World War and the global struggle for Baku’s oil.
I’ll admit I knew very little about Azerbaijan's involvement in WW1 prior to watching, so the film was genuinely interesting from an educational standpoint. Kapadia has crafted a visually stunning picture, and the cinematography is undeniably well shot. Coupled with a brilliant, sweeping musical score that acts as a genuine highlight, the technical and auditory elements of the film are absolutely top-notch.
Narratively, it plays out very much like a grand, sweeping Romeo and Juliet. We have two star-crossed lovers who are unable to have a peaceful union and ultimately decide to elope. However, the execution of this classic trope is where the film starts to show its cracks. The action scenes are few and far between, and more problematically, the lead actors struggle to maintain a believable, simmering chemistry. The romance often feels a bit glossed over, largely because the script rushes their growing relationship. By relying heavily on montages to show the passage of time, the characters occasionally feel less like deeply invested lovers and more like puppets being moved across a beautifully dressed historical backdrop.
When it finally reaches its climax, the ending is undeniably tragic, but it is also entirely predictable from the moment the first shots of the war are fired. You know exactly how this story is going to end, and the film doesn't do much to subvert those expectations. Still, despite the emotional distance and the rushed pacing, it remains a watchable, well crafted piece of period cinema.
Ali and Nino might not give you the deep, tear-jerking romance you might hope for, but as a visually gorgeous, historically informative, and musically brilliant wartime story, it’s a decent watch.
Ali and Nino sits in an interesting and somewhat awkward space in Kapadia's filmography. It is the work of a genuinely talented director applying himself to a project that clearly meant something, set in a corner of history that Western audiences rarely encounter on screen. Films that approach love stories through the lens of real political upheaval, whether they land or not, tend to leave something behind, and this one does at least open a window onto Azerbaijan's complicated early twentieth century in a way that feels honest rather than touristic. If the romantic core does not quite carry the emotional freight the story demands, the film still functions as a visually considered, musically accomplished piece of period work, and that is not nothing. Sometimes a film does not need to break your heart to be worth your time. It just needs to mean it.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2016 | Watched: 2026-06-30
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Ali and Nino (2016) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Rent: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: AMC Plus Apple TV Channel · AMC+ Amazon Channel · AMC+ · YouTube TV
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
