Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)

Original title

Кавказский пленник

Directed by

Sergei Bodrov

Genre

drama film, war film

Country

Kazakhstan, Russia

Runtime

1h 35m

Rated

12+

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 66 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two Russian soldiers are taken captive by a Chechen elder during the First Chechen War. The captor and captives develop a strained relationship amid the cultural divide and the brutality of conflict.

tensehumanizingslow-burnsombergrittyrawemotionalrestrained

What happens

Prisoner of the Mountains (Russian: Кавказский пленник, romanized: Kavkazskiy plennik), also known as Prisoner of the Caucasus, is a 1996 Russian war drama film directed by Sergei Bodrov, based on the 1872 short story The Prisoner in the Caucasus by Leo Tolstoy. The film explores the clash between traditional Chechen culture and Russian military tactics during the First Chechen War, focusing on the personal struggle between two Russian soldiers and their Chechen captors. The film received critical acclaim, winning a Crystal Globe at the 1996 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Bodrov suggested to The New York Times that the film played a role in initiating peace talks between Russia and its neighbors, as it was screened to President Boris Yeltsin on a Sunday and discussions began the next day. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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