Tom's Recommended Film of the Week

Prisoner of the Mountains

Even though it bears some earmarks of a lower budget production, this Russian film directed by Sergei Bodrov laid claim to the 1996 Audience Award at Cannes, most likely because of it's ironic look at humanity. Set within the Chechen-Russian uprising Prisoner of the Mountains tells a tale of two Russian soldiers captured and offered in trade for an imprisoned Chechen. The story advances it's complexity by introducing family dynamics and personal character, both of captives and masters. This is a work that adds a few new layers to the Stockholm Syndrome.

The acting is vibrant, with offhand humor to shake things up throughout. The mountain scenery is vast and imposing, as it should be and the story never takes on a preachy aspect. With enough twists to keep the viewer interested and an unexpected zinger thown in to top it off, I think most will find this film a good piece of entertainment.