"The wind frightens the heart of any strangers here..." and so begins Sergei Bodrov's Tolstoian erudite, haunting, compassionate and picturesque "Prisoners of the Mountain". Swivelling through rugged and expansive vistas of war, patriotism, man and the Russia-Chechnyan struggle, Bodrov's portrait was the Winner of the FIPRESCI (International Critics Prize) Award, the Audience Award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy and Golden Globe Awards. It also prompted Boris Yeltsin to push for peace after he had experience it.
High on a mountain plateau in Chechnya, vodka is purchased by guns, people worship at the Islamic altar, a young girl learns to empathise rather than hate, a father attempts to trade two Russian soldiers for the life of his son and history continually haunts and compels these solitary denizens into ballistic action and waging their own war.
The stone labyrinth is populated largely by old women, men, donkeys, an age old religion and children and is untouched by the 20th century. This is a haven of simplicity and of passionate retaliation and when the wiry Abdoul-Mourat (Djemal Sikharulidze) captures two Russian soldiers he is convinced that it will result in his son's release as a hostage from the military barracks.
The two soldiers, the young, inexperienced and gentle Vania (Sergei Bodrov jr) and the cocksure veteran Sasha (Oleg Menshikov) are like chalk and cheese although wedded by their belief in their mother country and by their captivity. Whilst Sasha holds his contempt in check he is the more experiential of the two who occasionally boasts of the number of men he has killed, Vania soaks up the atmosphere and nuance of his environment and of his captors.
Abdoul's assertive 12-year-old daughter Dina (Susanna Mekhralieva) initially takes a great dislike to the hostages but after a period of time warms to Vania's naive and child-like persona. She also recognises that human indifference and belief can be overcome. Her father on the other hand fearlessly campaigns for the release of his son.
"Prisoners of the Mountain" has some humorous moments and a tongue-in-cheek aspect to its roughly hewn and sobering canvas that borrows heavily from the Leo Tolstoy short story "Prisoners of the Caucasus". But while the original tale was written over 150 years ago, Bodrov's take has a modern sensibility.
"Not long ago, I decided to make only movies which I really love and am dying to make," he explains. "When you love something you have the chance to tell the truth. We made "Prisoners of the Mountain" because it's a great story. It mixes tragedy and humour and that always makes sense to me."
"We used Tolstoy's thoughts about war and peace. Life is short, the world is small. Why are people still fighting each other after thousands of years? The plot is simple and we don't know how to stop the war. It's easy to start it and it's difficult to end. It's easier to kill a man than love him. But we have to try," he concludes.
Synonymous with his abiding love for the humanity of his protagonists Bodrov delivered films such as "Sweet Dreams in the Grass", "Non-Professionals", "Freedom Is Paradise", "Katala", Dostoevsky's "The Gambler", "White King, Red Queen" and latterly "Freedom Is Paradise" and "I Wanted To See Angel" and "Prisoners of the Mountain" sees a continuation on the theme that he passionately embraces.
Sergei Bodrov, jr makes his debut in his father pictures and by all accounts hosts Moscow TV show Look. He brings an abundance of humility and sensitivity to his role and melds beautifully with Oleg Menshikov's ("The Hole", "Douba-Douba", "Burnt By The Sun") testosterone patriot. Bodrov's discovery of local 12-year-old Susanna Mekhralieva (Dina) which may have been a fluke but pays off. She gives a startling performance for one so young and fully fledged credibility to her character.
"Prisoners of the Mountain" is a beautifully realised film. It has warmth, vigour and a triumph in sorts of the human spirit. The Cossack humour and Baltic atmosphere is a wonder to behold and if you are looking for depth, honesty and a rustic experience then this film will live up to expectations.

Submitted by Kay