Savior (1998)

A hardened mercenary in the Foreign Legion begins to find his own humanity when confronted with atrocities during the fighting in Bosnia.

Director:

Predrag Antonijevic

Writer:

Robert Orr

Stars:

Nastassja Kinski, Pascal Rollin, Catlin Foster

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nastassja Kinski	...	Maria Rose (as Nastassia Kinski)
Pascal Rollin	...	Paris Priest
Catlin Foster	...	Christian
Dennis Quaid	...	Joshua Rose / Guy
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Peter Dominic (as Stellan Skarsgard)
John Maclaren	...	Colonel
Irfan Mensur	...	Drill Sergeant
Sergej Trifunovic	...	Goran
Kosta Andrejevic	...	Boy on Bridge / Dead Boy in River
Ljiljana Krstic	...	Old Lady
Sanja Zogovic	...	Girl On Bridge
Veljko Otasevic	...	Orthodox Priest
Marina Bukvicki	...	Muslim Girl
Dusan Perkovic	...	Uncle Ratko
Natasa Ninkovic	...	Vera

Storyline

Joshua is a former U.S. military official who fled to the Foreign Legion when his wife Maria was killed by Muslim fundamentalists in Paris, and now he's a mercenary, fighting in the Yugoslav war on the Serbian side against Muslims.

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Plot Keywords:

mercenary | muslim | foreign legion | atrocity | serbian | 

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Taglines:

Hope is worth fighting for.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence including brutal war atrocities, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Serbo-Croatian French

Release Date:

20 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A megmentő

Filming Locations:

Budva, Montenegro

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,898 (USA) (20 November 1998)

Gross:

$12,903 (USA) (27 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The aerial footage of landing in Africa was taken from the movie Outbreak as this film didn't have a big enough budget to film the scene. In turn the scene of civilians being lead from a bus to be executed is re-used as a flashback in the movie Behind Enemy Lines.

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Quotes

Guy: Don't any of the tits in this country work?

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Connections

References Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

User Reviews

A fantastic film is Savior.

Rated:R Runtime:104mins Release Date:1997

In a time of darkness and despair, Joshua Rose is a man in search of redemption and hope. His only chance to find it is the last place he intended it to be. Within himself.

Savior tells the incredible true story of Joshua Rose (an always brilliant Denis Quade), a man, who after seeing his wife (played by the stunning Nastassija Kinski who unfortunately doesn't have a lot of camera time) and child brutally murdered by an extremist group, goes on a murderous rampage to avenge their deaths and fill the emptiness that they have created within him. But instead of making the wrong things right and alleviating the emptiness, Joshua too is now an extremist killer who must flee the country and assume a new identity as Guy, a member of the French foreign legion. Here he takes refuge and joins a cause in hopes that he can redeem the wrongs that he has committed. But as the war progresses for this sniper, he just gets deeper in to the darkness. Until, however, he is called in to do a refugee escort mission and meets Verra a beautiful surbian woman who is pregnant with her Muslom rapist's child. After having a scuffle with his partner over the woman and then subsequently murdering him, Joshua, Verra and her infant son embark on a powerful journey of hope and redemption through the war torn plains of Serbia.

Remarkable is the only way I can start off my review of this movie. This In my opinion is the most underrated drama of all time. The characters are so beautifully created by the great actors playing the roles that you actually believe these experiences are happening to these people. Quade who I mentioned earlier is an amazing talent who is truly one of hollywoods best shines, like the north star. Next is the ultra talented and little known actress Natasa Ninkovic who turns in a performance so brilliant I would have nominated her for an academy award had I been on the committee. Director Peter Antonijevic creates a movie so powerful that scenes seem to actually come out of the television and literally pull on your emotions. I must admit that I really hope hollywood uses this virtually unknown director much, much more in the future.

Writer Robert Orr knows how to put together a movie, his script is first rate and just glows with realism. He also boasts great ideas and shows how brutal war can be. For instance a scene where Quade must sit and watch a bus load of people either get clubbed over the head with a choice blunt weapon from a golf bag or get moad down in firing squad fashion. The journey that he takes the characters on delves so far in to the black, take for instance the scene I recalled earlier wich happens to occur within the first five or ten minutes in which Rose get's the appalling opportunity to see what his family looks like after they've been charred to a crisp by a devastating explosion, that you can't even begin to think that Quade has any chance of finding the good in the world or even in himself for that matter. But through twists of fate and a little compassion Rose start's seeing a chance and so does the viewer.

To Finalize this without giving this movie the exact credit that it deserves would be an absoloute sin. This is the most powerful Drama I have ever had the pleasure of viewing, and had it had a couple of more scenes in wich the viewer was able to witness a little more of the war aspect of that torn country I would have given this piece of artistry a perfect ten (and I almost and I stress almost never give out that mark). I would personally like to thank everyone involved in this movie especially co-producer Oliver Stone and the great cinematographers who captured the feel and landscape of the country beautifully, for allowing me the pleasure of enjoying this priceless gem. Now drama's are actually at the bottom of my film category list just due to the fact that they are all seemingly soap opera's that run in the same direction, but to all of those reading, for the drama genre and movies in general this dynamic film truly is a Savior.

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10