"I wasn't interested in making a political film. All those political films are interesting today and tomorrow they're like old newspapers," said Russian film-maker Sergei Bodrov of his latest offering. But, though it may not be explicitly political in a national sense, Prisoner of the Mountains has a lot to say about people and their relationships during wartime - the ultimate expression of political failure.
Based on Leo Tolstoy's Prisoner of the Caucasus and filmed in the minuscule, mountainous republic of Dagestan, 300 kilometres from troubled Chechnya, Bodrov's film doesn't identify itself as taking place in any specific locale. Instead, it aims to be a universal story of the chains that bind enemy to enemy, captor to prisoner and prisoners to each other.
Prisoner of the Mountains tells the story of two Russian soldiers, the cynical Sacha (Oleg Menshikov) and raw recruit Vania (Sergei Bodrov, Jr.), the only survivors of a rebel ambush, captured and held for ransom by Abdoul-Mourat (Jemal Sikharulidze). Alternately bittersweet and tragic, the story of the Russians' captivity, the rebels' struggle and the relationships that develop between them all is as good an examination of the psychology of imprisonment and wartime morality as any seen in recent years.
Realizing this excellent screenplay are some truly world-class performances from all the principals. Especially notable is the work of Bodrov, Jr. - yes, he is the director's son - as well as Susanna Mekhraliev as Abdoul's young daughter. Both make their screen debuts in Prisoners and both do amazingly well. Bodrov, Jr.'s earnest face, shy hands-in-pockets gait and crooked grin have "trademark" written all over them and Mekhraliev's piercing, ageless gaze and intense screen presence are an amazing find in one so young.
Beautifully, lovingly photographed and tightly directed, Prisoner of the Mountains is certainly a must-see for not only foreign-film regulars, but for everyone who enjoys good dramatic film-making. Simple but not simplistic, complex but not complicated, Prisoner of the Mountains is a more than welcome alternative to Hollywood's standard blood-drenched shootin'-and-killin' war movies.

Submitted by Kay