Captive
NB! Screening on Monday 21st Sep at 2pm has moved from Kinopalatsi 6 -> 8
The war in Chechnya has often been described as Russia’s Vietnam and if Aleksei Uchitel’s visceral, atmospheric film is anything to go by, it’s just as brutal and chaotic – and having just as much impact on the nation’s cultural conscience. The depiction of young, brutalised soldiers forced to fight far from home in a conflict about which they know little and care less is identical – but the setting couldn’t be more different. Here the landscape is forests, mountains and ravines, shot in muted autumnal hues.
– JEFF ROBSON, EYE FOR FILM
Two Russian soldiers force a Chechen hostage to be their guide through hostile territory to fi nd captured comrades in the contempo Russian war story “Captive”. Considering how nationalistic, bellicose and often downright racist Russian films on the subject of Chechnya can be, helmer Alexei Uchital’s contribution to the genre looks almost liberal and pacifist by comparison.
– LESLIE FELPERIN, VARIETY
Duration: 80 min
Dialogue: Russian, Czech
Subtitles: English
