Prisoner of the Mountains by Boris Giller - Essay Example

The notable contributions include music by Leonid Desyatnikov, cinematographic presentations by Pavel Lebechev and Alan Baril, and additional contributions to the script by Arif Aliyev. Upon its release, the film won numerous awards and nominations among which were Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, at the Oscar, and the famous Golden Globe Award. Most reviewers have given positive comments about the film and commended it as a classic production.

The plot is cast deep in the Chechen Mountains in a war environment. While on war duty, Russian soldiers get ambushed by a group of rebels. A fight ensues between the two groups which end in the death of all the Russian soldiers save for two; Sasha and Vanya. The two of them get taken captive by the rebels who subject them to a situation where they have to cope with cross-cultural and civilization differences. Notably, Sasha is an old soldier while Vanya is merely a recruit. Perhaps it is this difference that makes them bear differences in preferences and characteristic traits. While the former works on a plan of escaping, the latter instead develops an approach of attempting to please his captors in one way or the other.

While Sasha remains extremely cynical, Vanya gets portrayed as gawky and Naïve. In the Caucasus where they are captured, Islam is the main religion. As a result, they both have to cope with Islamic tendencies. They get chained together and have to live as one almost all through. This forces the two into developing a comradely bond and the warmth of support for one another. Specifically, the young soldier begins to develop emotions and feelings for their captor’s daughter which makes him warmer to the family as opposed to his counterpart. The daughter of their captor also gets touched by Vanya’s kindness and warmth; a point that makes her risk the wrath of her father by extending a warm and helping hand to the former.

The reason for keeping the soldiers captive is the hope of a possible swap between the rebels and the Russian Soldiers. The Russian soldiers also hold the son of the chief captor hostage. The major themes portrayed in the film include pessimism, disillusionment, war, despair, and extreme cases of substance abuse. While it is in the hope of the prisoners to escape, their attempted escape gets foiled before it is successful. As they move out, they come across a hidden cache of wine. The next event is situations where they drink to celebrate and party to the extent they can no longer continue with their escape. As a result, they get re-captured. In essence, it is their personalities that assist in determining their fate. Another outstanding element in the film is the still and beautiful presentation of mountains in their natural scenery.

In conclusion, Prisoner of the Mountains presents the story of two Russian soldiers that have been captured by rebels in the Chechen Mountains. Read More