Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)
"Kavkazskiy plennik" (original title)

Two Russian soldiers, one battle-seasoned and the other barely into his boots and uniform, are taken prisoner by an anxious Islamic father from a remote village hoping to trade them for his captured son.

Director:

Sergey Bodrov

Writers:

Arif Aliyev, Sergey Bodrov,

Stars:

Oleg Menshikov, Sergey Bodrov Jr., Jemal Sikharulidze

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Oleg Menshikov	...	Sacha Kostylin
Sergey Bodrov Jr.	...	Ivan (Vanya) Zhilin
Jemal Sikharulidze	...	Abdul-Murat
Susanna Mekhraliyeva	...	Dina
Aleksandr Bureyev	...	Hasan
Valentina Fedotova	...	Zhilin's Mother
Aleksei Zharkov	...	Maslov, the Russian Commander
T. Kibyev
Valeri Kostrin
Pavel Lebeshev	...	(as P. Lebeshev)

Storyline

Based upon a short story by Leo Tolstoy, two Russian soldiers, Sacha and Vania, are ambushed by Muslim rebels in the grandly forbidding Caucasus and taken prisoner. Although complete understanding never fully emerges, their bittersweet ordeal reveals the human soul of two vastly different cultures.

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Plot Keywords:

caucasus | russian soldier | muslim | fur hat | clock | 

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Taglines:

An extraordinary story of hope, courage and humanity.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and language

Details

Country:

Russia Kazakhstan

Language:

Russian Turkish Georgian Chechen

Release Date:

31 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prisoner of the Mountains

Filming Locations:

Rechi, Dagestan, Russia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$89,992 (USA) (7 February 1997)

Gross:

$661,361 (USA) (28 March 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Karavan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dzhemal Sikharulidze, whose character Abdul-Murat abducts the two Russian soldiers, speaks Georgian in the film, not Chechen.

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Goofs

After Sacha and Vanya escape and remove the shackles from their ankles, they begin running upstream. The scene cuts to a different angle, and they are running downstream.

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Quotes

Ivan Zhilin: I don't want to kill them.
Sacha Kostylin: You have to, Vanya. It's war.

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Soundtracks

"GO DOWN MOSES"
(trad)
Arranged by Harry Thacker Burleigh
Performed by Louis Armstrong

User Reviews

Excellent Movie

Prisoner of the Mountains is an excellent movie. Vanya a young recruit , and Sasha a veteran soldier in the Russian army are captured after an ambush by the Chechens. The Chechen leader keeps them to trade for his son who is captured by the Russians. Then a friendship develops between the Chechens, and the two Russians. I study Russian in college, and even though the subtitles aren't very accurate at times it still helps. The whole plot is just amazing. It shows the human side of soldiers. I definitly recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it.