Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)

Pretty Good

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Based on a short story by Tolstoy, Prisoner of the Mountains is a wonderful, bittersweet anti-war story directed by Sergei Bodrov. Two Russians soldiers - veteran Sacha (Oleg Menshikov) and rookie Vanya (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) are captured by Muslim rebels and kept in a remote mountain village, as Abdul-Murat (Jemal Sikharulidze) plans to exchange them with his son.Character relationships are the core of the movie. First, the camaraderie between the two prisoners - Sacha is cocky and bitter, Vanya is young and naive. The two have nothing in common aside for their captivity, but they slowly bond, and their growing friendship is so well-acted, it doesn't come across as clichéd. Even more interesting is the relationship between the two prisoners and their captors - Abdul-Murat, his young daughter Dina (an excellent Susanna Mekhralyeva) and their mute guard (Aleksandr Bureyev). A typical Hollywood movie would have made this sappy, but their interactions here are low-key and convincing.Menshikov is perfect as Sacha; the actor makes him increasingly likable as he bonds with Vanya and the rebels, but never loses the character's edge. Likewise, Bodrov Jr. gives a vivid portrayal of quiet Vanya. Sikharulidze plays Abdul-Murat as a cold but decent man who occasionally shows glimpses of kindness. And Mekhralyeva is magnificent as young Dina - one of the best performances by a child actress I have ever seen.Without spoiling anything, the bittersweet ending is powerful, effective and memorable. A must-see.10/10

In the war between Russia and Chechnya, the two Russian soldiers Sacha (Oleg Menshikov) and Vanya (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) are ambushed and made prisoners of war by a group of Chechens. The old man Abdul-Murat (Dzhemal Sikharulidze) wants to exchange them by his last son, who was arrested by the Russian troops. His other two sons were killed by the Russians, and his family is composed only by his teenager daughter Dina (Susanna Mekhraliyeva) and himself. The two soldiers are kept alive in his village, while Abdul tries to negotiate them with the Russian Commander Maslov (Aleksei Zharkov). Sacha and Vanya are very different persons and while together, they get closer. Sacha has the mentality of a soldier, intending to kill the Chechens from the village, while Vanya is a teacher and prefers to try to understand the locals behavior and culture, performing small jobs for them, like fixing clocks. Vanya falls in love with Dina. This beautiful movie is another magnificent anti-war movie. The touching story, supported by an excellent cast and the Caucasian locations, makes this movie a worthwhile entertainment. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): `Prisioneiros das Montanhas' (`Prisoners of the Mountains')

The simple story of two men captured an imprisoned in a small village develops actually to one of the most poetic and effective peace messages of our times. Based on stable and very well described characters and by the use of magical photography of a small village in Caucausus the movie helps us face the tragedy of war and the madness of human conflict as well. The movie is about two Russians captured by the rebels, kept as hostages by an old man whose son is also in prison by the Russians. Since the old man wants to trade the two Russians with his son he insists that they must not be killed, he keeps them as a hope for his own tragical mission, to rescue his own son, despite the fact that other rebels want hostages killed. One of the Russians, actually a young and unexperenced soldier ends up respecting that small village. The relations among villagers and hostages, the deep human touch between the young Russian and the niece of the old man become the real story in the middle of the war.The viewer confronts since the very beginning what war is about, the importance of human existence and life and the madness of human conflicts. Above all is life, creativity (the youg Russian repairs clocks), laugh and drink. While poverty and sadness reigns in the village tradition and human figures seem to survive. Those human values survive for a few moments before reality shows the cruel side of life once again. The movie is extremely poetic, images and folkloric scenes are well dressed with silent and simple russian music, silence and well developed scenes (the old man loading his son's dead body, the mother of the Russian and the old man meet each other as ennemies with the same feelings though as parenthood is above all wars, the young Russian is afraid to die).Although the actors are not famous you will appreciate the natural talent of the actor playing the old man, a perfect tall-thin shape which dominates the screen. This movie is a must, a call of nature of humanism, a message which can't lose its modernity.

There are probably a lot of prejudices people have against Russian film. Mine were gone after I had seen this one."Kavkazskij plennik" is a film about a youth who's being sent to Chechnya to fight for the Russian army. He's together with another Russian soldier being captured in Chechnya by an older Chechnyan man who wants to change them for his own son, who's is being held by the Russians. There being locked into an old house high among the Caucasian mountains. Soon a friendship develops between them and young girl who brings them food and water. This movie was made after and during the last months of the first Chechnyan war. Everybody's a victim and there is nothing to win in this war, specially for the Russians. It is just a matter of how much you lose. The persons in this film do not hate each other because their fighting on different sides. The Chechnyans probably hates what these Russian soldiers represent, but they know that this war isn't caused by these two Russians. They are both just a small, meaningless part of it. Russia does not give a damn about their lives, probably because it's leaders have lost the humane touch, while calculating their offensives. Lives have been reduced into numbers on white sheet. But there are people who care, even among the "enemies". Normal people still show respect for humanity.The rhythm of the movie is great, it leaves the viewer enough time to think and also find the deeper thoughts from the movie. The music is well selected too, I just cant get that tune out of my head. This together with a realistic humane aspect gives this movie a strong pacifistic tune. Definitely worth to take a look at.