In a few parallel sequences of flashforwards, the photographer uses an escort agency to invite a number of women, all from countries culturally or racially related to Armenia, to dinner in a similar setting at his home in Toronto.

All scenes in Armenia are strictly from the photographer's subjective viewpoint, mostly while he prepares to take pictures of the churches (including a moment where the photographer mistakes the pagan temple of Garni for a church or a bank); his wife and driver speak to him while looking directly at the camera.

The photographer's answering machine sits beside the Armenian calendar, which marks the passage of time throughout the movie.

[5]Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader gave the film four stars out of four (masterpiece) and opened his enthusiastic review with the following sentence: "In terms of craft, originality, and intelligence, there are few young filmmakers in the world today to match Atom Egoyan...".

Rita Kempley of The Washington Post said, "[Egoyan's] approach remains far too cerebral to evoke more than intellectual interest".