Far cry from truth

When a film starts with the over used quote‘the first casualty of war is truth’ you would expect it to take its own advice– 5 Days of War does not.

Whatever its good intentions, Renny Harlindoes not make an effort to awaken viewers with the truth, but insteadsuffocates them with a pillow of propaganda.

If you’re yearning to hate Russians, thisis the film for you. With the help of the Georgian government and funding fromGeorgia International Films, Harlin gives an embarrassingly one-sided angle tothe Russian-Georgian conflict.

The film opens with predictable dialoguealongside tacky cinematography. However, things start to look up as the actionbegins.

American war correspondent, Thomas Anders,is in Iraq with his girlfriend and his cameraman, Sebastian Ganz, when they getcaught in heavy crossfire. A Georgian army captain, who will convenientlyreappear later in the film, saves them from the attack and the story skips to ayear later. While back in the US, Anders receives a phone call from a fellowjournalist, which ultimately results in Ganz and himself covering the conflictin Georgia.

The movie focuses on South Ossetianvillages, where they both witnessed an atrocity committed by Russian troops.Having filmed it, they must hold on to the camera’s memory card for the USnetworks to broadcast the news.

The rest of the film centres on Anderspersuading apathetic American news channels to run the story, although they aremore interested in the coverage of the Olympics in Beijing.

A ruthless Russian colonel and a barbaricmercenary get in their way, but with the help of Tatia, a massacre survivor andAnders’ new romantic interest, they manage to dodge their way out of dangeroussituations.

Harlin provides an exaggerated and brutallygraphic depiction of the five-day war … but 5 Days of War felt like five hoursof torture.

The movie didn’t even try to explain theconflict or why the carnage was occuring. Rather it targets those who don’tcare and just want to see things blow up.

Harlin’s fondness for adrenaline-producingaction takes centre stage. He may have success in this genre but has faileddrastically by dipping his toes into politics. The movie is a constant barrageof explosions and clichéd rescues. Even the line between evil and good isthick; you’re either the Russian tattooed Nazi or the courageous Georgiansoldier being followed by a white American hero.

Having said this, 5 Days of War showsbeautiful cinematography of the Georgian countryside and provides a goodperformance by Andy Garcia. The actor, fortunate enough to resemble theGeorgian president, provided the film with a heartfelt performance in hisEvita-like speech about freedom. In addition, the extended cameo of Val Kilmerbenefited the film greatly. Although he may have just made small appearances inrandom scenes, it definitely swayed my decision in initially watching themovie.

The film’s most audacious tactic was theuse of documentary footage of real survivors. This scene almost brought me totears. It was simple yet considerate and tender. This was the only sinceremoment of the film that provoked any true emotion out of me – and it came rightat the end.

Though it may have its flaws, leaving asidepolitics and propaganda, 5 Days of War isn’t a terrible movie – just not a verygood one.

I think that the standard of war films hasbeen set high and Harlin didn’t succeed in providing the story with the grit itdeserves. If you’re looking for a history of the conflict, you will not find ithere.

* Showing in Cineco and Seef II