Overview
A harrowing tale of survival amidst chaos and violence unfolds in a war-torn landscape.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- bleak
- tense
- war cinema night
- serious film discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a tense, uncompromising war drama distinguished by its harsh realism and morally serious treatment of captivity.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The British couple are taken hostage alongside Russian soldiers and become central to the ransom crisis.
Released hostages must secure and deliver money to obtain Margaret's freedom.
The Chechen conflict is depicted as bloody, coercive, and devastating for soldiers and hostages alike.
Its central subject is the Second Chechen War and the terrorism and captivity surrounding it.
Films like War, and why
Prisoner of the Mountains
Shared Chechen War setting, hostage crisis, military peril, and morally bleak realism.
The 9th Company
Shared Russian war drama perspective, captivity, civilian vulnerability, and antiwar tension.
Kandahar
Shared hostage negotiation, terrorism, ransom pressure, and escalating psychological suspense.
Movie Details
- Director
- Aleksei Balabanov
- Release Date
- 2002-03-14
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (109)
Cast
- Aleksey Chadov
- Ian Kelly
- Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
- Sergei Bodrov Jr.
- Yuri Stepanov
- Evklid Kyurdzidis
- Vladimir Gostyukhin
- Irina Sokolova
- Sergey Shemarkin
- Viktoriya Smirnova
Common questions
- What is War about?
- A brutal Chechen War hostage drama turns a ransom mission into a test of loyalty, survival, and moral endurance.
- What is War like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of War as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is War violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in War as graphic.
- What did critics think of War?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a tense, uncompromising war drama distinguished by its harsh realism and morally serious treatment of captivity.
- Which films are like War?
- Films with a similar feel include Prisoner of the Mountains, The 9th Company, and Kandahar.
- How long is War?
- War runs 120 minutes.
