Avgust. Vosmogo (2012)

The story is about a young single mother who is compelled to make her way at risk of her life to Ckhinvali, where her son is, whom she had sent there on the eve of the conflict. The film ... See full summary »

Director:

Dzhanik Fayziev

Writers:

Michael A. Lerner (screenplay), Dzhanik Fayziev (story)

Stars:

Svetlana Ivanova, Max Matveev, Egor Beroev

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Svetlana Ivanova	...	Kseniya
Max Matveev	...	Lekha (as Maksim Matveev)
Egor Beroev	...	Zaur / Dobryy Robot
Artyom Fadeev	...	Tyoma
Aleksandr Oleshko	...	Egor
Aleksey Guskov	...	Kazbek
Khasan Baroev	...	Ilya
Vladimir Vdovichenkov	...	Prezident
Yuriy Kutsenko	...	Izvestnaya persona (as Gosha Kutsenko)
Sergey Gazarov	...	Kirill Ivanovich
Anatoliy Belyy	...	Aleksey
Lidiya Velezheva	...	Aza
Vladimir Zaytsev	...	Ministr oborony
Konstantin Samoukov	...	Grishka
Alexander Petrov	...	Yashka, komandir tanka (as Aleksandr Petrov)

Storyline

The story is about a young single mother who is compelled to make her way at risk of her life to Ckhinvali, where her son is, whom she had sent there on the eve of the conflict. The film can be divided into two parts that alternate one with the other: one shows how in the eyes of a young boy the South Ossetian conflict transforms into a fantastic war story with super-robots, and the second shows the reality of the war situation and the journey of the main heroine.

---

Plot Keywords:

fire | detonation | explosion | month in title | imagination | 

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [Russia]

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

21 February 2012 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Август. Восьмого

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

RUR 139,550,100 (Russia), 26 February 2012, Wide Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glavkino,Dago Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of the scenes of South Ossetia were shot in Abkhazia. The majority of the extras consisted of Abkhazians, but the characters who speak on Ossetian were played by North Ossetian actors.

---

Quotes

Zaur: [as Kind Robot] Wipe your boiling snivels! Kosmoboy has a friend!

User Reviews

Decent Russian Propaganda War Movie

I haven't seen many Russian movies, so I don't have the background of some of the other reviewers. But I found the political propaganda element of this movie tiresome. The Wikipedia article about the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 states that the shelling was started by the Russian-backed, South Ossetian separatists, and that the ethnic cleansing during the war was also done by South Ossetians as opposed to Georgians. As I watched the film, I got tired of seeing Georgian soldiers without faces- wearing black face masks and goggles to remove the human element. All the Russian soldiers had their faces uncovered throughout the movie, and showed all the different emotional shades of their unwavering bravery, hulk-like strength, and a deep compassion for children, puppies, and hot women.

I think the take-away from this movie was supposed to be something like "Outnumbered and with the odds stacked against them, the Russians somehow managed to pull out a victory from the Russo-Georgian war, which they were forced to intervene in because of a looming humanitarian crisis and the inhumane brutality of the Georgian military." While this message was entertaining at first, by the end it was just plain irritating. I enjoy subtlety. The more overt the propaganda element got, the more angry I was at Russia by the end of the film, for lying to me and for being a bully with a massive modern military that invades other countries, annexes them, and then lies to everyone involved with such blatant lies that it leaves you utterly bewildered as to what to do about the gross injustice of it all.

One of the things about American propaganda films, such as "Lone Survivor," is that it at least ATTEMPTS to tell the truth from both sides of the coin. There is no way America could get away politically with its wars if the movies didn't tell the truth about them to assuage our conscience (c.f. "Green Zone"). Apparently Russia not only wages unjust wars, but its movies about them are just plain lies.

I gave this 3-star humanitarian travesty of a film 6 stars for the special effects. The combat scenes are believable and entertaining. Seeing the Russian military in action makes me glad we're not at war with them.