Prisoner of the Mountains

Prisoner of the Mountains (Russian: Кавказский пленник, Kavkazskiy plennik), also known as Prisoner of the Caucasus, is a 1996 Russian war drama film directed by Sergei Bodrov and written by Bodrov, Arif Aliyev and Boris Giller. The film is based on the Caucasian War-era short story "The Prisoner in the Caucasus" by the classic Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

Prisoner of the Mountains
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySergei Bodrov
Produced byBoris Giller
Written byBoris Giller, Arif Aliyev, Sergei Bodrov
Story byBoris Giller
Starring
Music byLeonid Desyatnikov
CinematographyPavel Lebeshev
Edited byAlan Baril
Olga Grinshpun
Vera Kruglova
Distributed byOrion Classics
Release date
  • 1996 (1996)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryRussia
Kazakhstan
LanguageRussian

Prisoner of the Mountains was awarded a Crystal Globe at the 1996 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and the same year was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Russia)[1] and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Russia). It also received rave critic reviews.

This film illustrates the conflicting views between traditional Chechen culture and Russian warfare through the use of soundtrack, costuming, and arms. The personal confrontation between two Russian soldiers and their Chechen captors is the main theme of the film, which was shot in the mountains of Dagestan (mostly in the aul of Ritcha, whose inhabitants are mentioned in the film's credits), a short distance away from the then-ongoing First Chechen War.

Cast

Plot

A group of Russian soldiers is ambushed by rebels in the Chechen mountains and the two survivors are taken prisoner by an old man Abdul Murat, who wants to swap them for his son held by the Russians. The two prisoners cope with the situation in very different ways, as the war-hardened and cynical sergeant Sasha (Oleg Menshikov) works to escape while the young and naive conscript Vanya (Sergei Bodrov, Jr.) tries to make friends with his captors and falls in love with Abdul's daughter Dina. After an escape attempt fails, during which Sasha kills a shepherd to get his weapon and is executed in retaliation, Vanya is re-imprisoned. After Abdul's son is killed during an escape attempt, Abdul goes to execute Vanya in return, only to find that he has been released by Dina. Vanya however has not run away, and when Abdul walks him out of the village to execute him, he instead fires his gun over Vanya's head and walks away, leaving him. Vanya sets off back to the Russian lines, and sees a helicopter squadron. He tries to flag them down, only to realize that they have been sent to destroy the village he and Sasha were imprisoned in. The movie ends with a closing monologue from Vanya, stating he spent two weeks in the hospital before returning home with his mother.

Reception

Awards

Awards:

  • European Film Award – Outstanding Single Achievement
  • Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Award of Ecumenical Jury
  • Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Crystal Globe
  • Nika Awards – Best Actor
  • Nika Awards – Best Director
  • Nika Awards – Best Film
  • Nika Awards – Best Screenplay

Nominations:

  • Academy Award – Best Foreign Language Film (Russia)
  • Golden Globe Award – Best Foreign Language Film (Russia)
  • Nika Awards – Best Cinematographer
  • Nika Awards – Best Sound Editing
  • Satellite Awards – Best Motion Picture (Foreign Language)

Ratings

Prisoner of the Mountains received a very positive score of 87% "fresh" (positive) reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, with the average rating of 8.3/10.[2]

See also

References
  1. "The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. Prisoner of the Mountains on Rotten Tomatoes
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