Prisoner of the Mountains

Prisoner of the Mountains (99 min., Russia, 1996)

A small troop of Russian soldiers policing the Caucasus is ambushed by local rebels. The only two survivors, Sacha (Oleg Menshikov) and Vania (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) are captured and held for ransom by Abdoul-Mourat (Djemal Sikharulidze) the patriarch of a nearby town, thousands of miles away from Sacha and Vania's homes. The Muslim community exists in an area virtually untouched by the 20th century.

They are held for ransom, to be exchanged for the Abdoul-Mourat's son who is currently in a Russian jail. If the exchange cannot be effected, the men are to be killed.

There is no love lost between the cynical veteran soldier, Sacha and Vania, a novice recruit. They are bound together at first by nothing more than the prison chains. But slowly, a friendship develops, born of common ties. Vania comes to respect his fellow Russian and also develops a fondness for his captors, especially Abdoul-Mourat's young daughter Dina (Susanna Mekhralieva).

The first attempt at exchanging prisoners fails. And despite the insistence of his neighbors that he kill his prisoners, Abdoul-Mourat instructs Sacha and Vania to write to their mothers to expedite the hostage swap. As the deadline for the exchange arrives, Sacha and Vania attempt to escape, killing two of the locals in the process. They are recaptured and Sacha is murdered in retaliation. When Abdoul-Mourat's son is killed attempting to escape from jail, Vania's fate is sealed. Despite Dina's supplications for mercy, Abdoul-Mourat, rifle at his side, takes Vania up to a lonely hillside.

But then fate and humanity intervene. And for a moment, the decades old animosities are overwhelmed by compassion.

But it is only a brief moment. And then the conflict resumes.

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