Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)

Wonderful character development!

Strictly average movie

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

By definition this is a war film, however the vast majority of the film is something else. The main protagonist, Zhilin, is a novice enlistee, played by Sergei Bodrov Junior. Whereas Sanya, the senior officer is played by an incredibly emotive Oleg Menshikov. Both of these men are captured after being knocked out during the course of a small skirmish with local militants in the Caucasus region, and are held captive in the hope that an exchange of prisoners can be made. War is an existential event, setting our perspectives into two options: life, or death. As one might assume, the role of manhood within this film is evident and in a sense acts as a determining factor as to who makes it out alive. Sanya shows cracks within his inner being; he goes from moments in which he is radiant with boundless energy – dancing on the roof of the aul in which they are held captive, and in another instance he is seen sobbing uncontrollably while chained to his fellow soldier. Obviously this is a perilous predicament, but Vanya (Zhilin) is able to keep a level head under this pressure of not knowing whether or not he might make it out of these mountains. In fact Vanya is able to make friends with his captors, both Hassan and Dina – the daughter of Abdul Murad. Sanya when in his brighter moods is able to socialize and make fun of the tongue-less Hassan, and Vanya seems to go along with this. Overall it is this glimpse into the human side of war that helps to make it a good movie, but it is the ending that truly makes it all worthwhile. As a viewer you feel horrified, because you have begun to see these "mountain savages" as living breathing human beings. Given the ongoing war at the time of the movie's release, it is likely that it could have been filmed in this particular time period (before or after 1996).In terms of rating, I would give it a 9 as it's not the most cinematographically groundbreaking film, but it does gives people a glimpse into the inner sanctum of a lesser understood culture. There are some amazing shots that show the rugged beauty of the auls, which are the dwellings carved into the sides of cliffs. Furthermore, it is possible to get a taste of the way of life – how humans regardless of nationality just want to live by whatever means possible, and that war is not something to seek out.

As other have commented, the movie tries to apply a relatively even hand to both sides of the chechen conflict, possibly being a little more biased to the chechen point of view. What surprised me about this movie was that I came out of it more supportive of the Russian side of the conflict. Let me explain: Lets say you are a American living in present day Wyoming. Now imagine if there still existed unassimilated cheyenne indians in the area living out their old traditions and who would still periodically conduct war parties and scalp and kill anyone they found who was not a part of their tribe. If you are living in Wyoming, taking trips outside urbanized areas becomes quite harrowing. Such conditions would make one lose one's fascination of Indian culture quite rapidly.Present day conditions in the Caucauses are not so much different than the hypothetical example given above. These traditional Islamic cultures can be extraordinarily savage and haven't progressed much in the last 1000 years. The only current technology they have embraced is that which allows them to kill more people.The movie is well written and directed. It does try to be as honest as humanly possible with the subject matter. As a result, one is not preached to and allowed to make up their own mind, which is very rare in film.

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.

In this film, I can find almost everything what I like in a movie. It presents the life of a small community, their thoughts, their feelings and their habits. It has a nice atmosphere, beautiful sights, good actors, and a strong story. What else do you want? Another reason to love Russian movies.