Escape from Afghanistan

Rating:
Summary: Russian War
Review: A violent and realistic look at the war between Russia and Afghanistan, ESCAPE FROM AFGHANISTAN concerns a Russian photojournalist and a doctor who are caught up in battle when a skirmish flares up while they are interviewing prisoners near the country's border. As the madness escalates, the doctor tends to the wounded and the photojournalist captures unforgettable images with his camera. All the while, they must struggle to figure out who they can trust as they try to get out of the country. The film is a 1994 Russian production.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Be Deceived - This film is not about the current war
Review: My friends and I rented this movie under the impression it was about the current war in Afghanistan. As we are all in the Army Reserves, we were looking forward to watching what we thought was a movie about the American military. How surprised we were to discover that the movie was actually a Soviet made film depicting an uprising by Soviet prisoners in an Afghan prison camp. The reason we did not realize this earlier we believe is due to the deceptive packaging. The soldiers depicted on the front would seem to be dressed in American uniforms. Closer inspection of the soldiers in the bottom right corner reveals their uniforms do not have the exact same pattern as actual American uniforms, but this is not readily apparent even to the trained eye (and means little as Hollywood frequently depicts American uniforms incorrectly). Furthermore, the fact that the soldier in the top left is holding an American made AT-4 (an anti-tank rocket launcher) and that the soldeirs in the bottom right are wielding American M-16s is deceptive as they are never depicted in the movie (as one would naturally expect since they are American weapons and this is a Soviet movie about a Soviet conflict). The tank in the bottom left appears to be an American M1-Abram (a US tank) and also has no place on the cover of this movie (as it also does not appear in the film). Now that I think about it, there is a brief sequence in the beginning of the movie that depicts several battle shots (they are not an integral part of the movie however and are little more that a few snap-shots of battle without dialogue). It is possible that the American military hardware depicted is shown here, but that would not change the fact that the cover is incredibly deceptive. Another bit of deception is that the back cover is worded in such a way so that there is nothing to suggest that it is not about the current war. Specific references to dates, nationality, major plot elements (e.g. the fact that it is about events in a prison camp), and anything else that might tip the would-be viewer off about the true nature of the movie are all intentionally ommitted. Finally, the only copyright date listed on the film is that of 2002, which is apparently the copyright date for the deceptive packaging and substandard dubbing of this film, but certainly not the original copyright date. All in all, this movie seems to be an attempt to cash in on the interest surrounding the current conflict in Afghanistan, but it is just deception.

Rating:
Summary: Good research movie.
Review: My school isdoing a "rebuilding Afghanistan" project where we come up with ways to rebuild the nation. This movie helped me research the current conditions in the war-torn country. It gives a lot of information on the POWs, and what it is like to be caught in the middle of it all.

Rating:
Summary: Good research movie.
Review: My school isdoing a "rebuilding Afghanistan" project where we come up with ways to rebuild the nation. This movie helped me research the current conditions in the war-torn country. It gives a lot of information on the POWs, and what it is like to be caught in the middle of it all.