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War

Name: War
Genre: War, Drama
Released: 2002-03-14
Cast: Aleksey Chadov, Ian Kelly, Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, Sergei Bodrov Jr., Yuri Stepanov

2002 | 120 min | War, Drama

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With almost no lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Aimed squarely at war-film fans and people who like stories about real, flawed people. Best on a quiet night when you're in the mood to feel something. Sits nicely alongside The Deer Hunter or Casualties of War.
The mood: Intense.
The pace: Character-first and patient, at 2 hr.
What might put you off: It's in Russian, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
Not the one if you want explosions or easy laughs.

During the bloody war in Chechnya, a British couple and two Russian soldiers are taken hostage by Chechen rebels. Two of the hostages are then released to bring the money for the British woman who is forced to wait for the ransom.

How it earned its rating

CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
AudiencesSolid
Our audience score: 60%
AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
Reach & staying powerSolid
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 12K people sought it out in the past year

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Cast & crew

Directed by Aleksei Balabanov

Aleksey ChadovIvan
Ian KellyJohn
Ingeborga DapkūnaitėMargaret
Sergei Bodrov Jr.Captain Medvedev
Yuri StepanovAleksandr Matrosov
Evklid KyurdzidisRuslan
Vladimir GostyukhinIvan's Father
Irina Sokolova
Sergey Shemarkin
Viktoriya SmirnovaKatya