adriennenoracarter Review of Prisoner of the Mountains

Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)

Beautiful Story against Beautiful Scenery

[8/10 · 21 November 2015]

In Bodrov's Prisoner of the Mountain, Ivan (Vanya) has just entered the Russian army. He's barely uniformed by the time he is on his way to Chechnya. On the road into the mountains, the group comes under attack by a group of Chechen rebels. Vanya and Sacha are both knocked out and taken prisoner by the Chechens in the attack. One of the Chechens, Abdul, is hoping to trade the two Russians for his son, who is being held in a Russian army prison. The story that ensues shows both the cruelty and humanity that can be found in war. Both sides commit atrocities: the two captives kill the mute Hassan in their struggle as they attempt to escape—this is one cruelty on the Russian side. A Chechen father kills his son who has traded sides in order to work for the Russian police. Neither side has its hands clean. However, even in the midst of war, love can be found in this story— not just the fraternal love that grows between Vanya and Sacha, but love between enemies. Abdul's daughter Dina is kind to the captured soldiers, and in turn, Vanya shows her kindness she doesn't experience from her peers. She wants to help him escape, but he refuses to go because he knows that the rest of the villagers will never forgive her. Vanya, throughout the movie, represents an opposition to war. He never directly kills anyone, and never even learns how to properly handle a gun; even by the end of the movie, he is misfiring his weapons. When he is going to spar with the Chechen leader's nephew, he comes off as a pacifist. Even when he knows Sacha is dead, he doesn't turn to violence as a solution. A beautiful story with a beautiful backdrop, Prisoner of the Mountain is a true Russian gem.