Time destroys everything. Time destroys everything, except the war, could say Sergei Bodrov, the Russian director of "Prisoner of the Caucasus", nominated for the Oscar as the Best Foreign Film in 1997.
Inspired by Tolstoy's short story "Captive of the Caucasus", in which the action took place a century ago, Bodrov's movie was filmed in 1996, in the middle of the Chechen war but remained tragically a question of the moment, because of the so many wars that destroy our planet. Nevertheless, more than its theme, it's its processing that gives to the film this pertinence.
Bodrov, who began his career as a satirical journalist, cast a brilliantly acid glance at the absurdity of these conflicts, at the obvious common points between these men and these women, prisoners and kidnappers, still ready to kill one another.
Bodrov mixes images from the war (the imprisonment of the two Russian soldiers) with real moments of comedy (the two soldiers dancing together), of emotion (their relationship with the daughter of the kidnapper), even of dreamlike lyricism (Sacha's apparition after his death).
We laugh, we cry..., we are carried away by the wonderful performance of the two heroes. Superbly surrounded with non-professional actors, Oleg Menshikov and Sergei Bodrov Jr (they acted together in "East-West" and Wargnier is a big fan of Bodrov's film) contribute, thanks to the wide range of their palette, to the universal significance of this film. Despite some problems of rhythm, "Prisoner of the Caucasus" is a very moving film. Eternal, alas!

Sergei Bodrov is rewarded for six years of waiting!

"I know perfectly well that it's something out of the ordinary to take an old film out from drawers, but I hope it proves its qualities." Exactly!
"Prisoner of the Caucasus", which remained unseen in France, is a brilliant reflection about war. This Russian director (54 years old) was not inspired by the particular conflict in Chechnya, but by Tolstoy's short story: "Captive of the Caucasus".
"'I was inspired by its universality. This point of view guides all my films. I try to disconnect them from reality." He surrounded himself with an impressive actor's band, Oleg Menshikov above all others. "Oleg is one of our most brilliant actors ", Bodrov said. So brilliant that the director had difficulty in finding a right co-star. Finally he chose a non-professional one, his own son, Bodrov Jr.! The mixture between professionals and amateurs is the source of Bodrov's works.
"The professionals could have a tendency to over-act, in front of the non-artificiality of the amateurs. The director must manage this fear." Bodrov managed it wonderfully, from his first film (1984) to "Quickie", an excellent polar filmed in the USA in 2001. Our next meeting with him will be in Venice, where he will present "The Bear's Kiss" about an itinerant circus. Let's hope that this time we won't wait for 6 years before discovering it in France!

Submitted by Juliet Regibot