A Quiet Outpost

Tihaya Zastava is a movie that didn't leave me with a feeling of wasted time as most other movies i watched recently did. It's worth watching, especially taking into consideration the current war against terror and rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Plot is based in just after the breakup of Soviet Union, in 1993. in ex-USSR , now part of Russian Federation, republic of Tagikistan, on the border with Afganistan. Small border outpost is under attack by local bandits which are trying to present themselves as Islamic holy warriors, while their true objective is terrorizing local population and kidnapping women. This story is based on real events, yet had played many times over in the world. It does a good job of portraying the roots of current tensions in the region. It could as well play out in Checniya, Pakistan, Afganistan... Replace Russian soldiers with Americans or any local army and viola! There's even mentioning of training camps for jihadists in northern Pakistan. Story is pretty much black and white, acting not at it's highest, there's plenty stereotypes, some scenes remind of WW2 era soviet movies. Still, it's worth watching for it's educational purpose. Production is good, camera too. Plenty attention had been paid to details, uniforms, guns, vehicles are all period and location correct.

Historical drama. Russian Russian novelist Valery Povolyaev's film adaptation of the novel of the same name, in turn based on a real battle between Afghan and Tajik Mujahideen against Russian border guards from the 12th outpost (Moscow Border guard) on July 13, 1993. Alas, I am not familiar with the book source, so I will evaluate the picture as an independent work, with an eye on real events. I found out about this film shoot purely by chance, because it was shown on the box (on which channel I don't remember), and this interested me. As a result, I looked - and I did it for a reason. This picture could even surprise me unexpectedly. And here's my brief opinion for you - an unexpectedly good patriotic picture. There were both advantages and disadvantages in it (which are not obvious to everyone), but they should be mentioned. And this concludes this introduction, and we get to the point.

So, the advantages: Russian Russian border guards 1. Scenario - the picture tells us about the Russian outpost (called "Quiet"), where Russian border guards serve, guarding the borders of the Republic of Tajikistan, from the penetration of bad elements from neighboring Afghanistan into its territory. The action takes place in the nineties of the last century, when a civil war was raging in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and Russian border guards bravely and heroically carried out their service far from home. We will see sometimes difficult relationships between our guys and local residents (among whom there are different people), the life and moods of border guards, of course love (where without it), and finally - the legendary battle at the outpost, when Russian soldiers and officers stood up in battle against the vastly superior forces of Afghan and Tajik militants, although they paid a high price for it. In an hour and a half, we were able to reveal the time and the place where everything was happening. It was not without drawbacks, although it is clear that the budget was not the largest. The ending is predictable, but it still catches on to the living, although not as well as in "Purgatory" and "Thunder Gates".

2. Characters - Captain Panov (head of the post), elder of kashlak Zakir, senior ensign Gritsuk, senior Lieutenant Bobrovsky, local boy Abdullah, the main enemy of Fayzullo, border guard Azamat and so on and so on. All of them were well revealed in dialogues and actions. They showed everyone's worldview. Although it is immediately clear who is good and who is not. All the characters behave competently (which is a rarity for Russian cinema). You get into characters (except for scoundrels, of course).

3. Atmosphere - despite the fact that the picture was shot in the Krasnodar Territory, the viewer does not leave the feeling that he is in Tajikistan. Especially the creators were bothered with recreating the nineties: the collapse of the USSR, the Soviet flag over the outpost instead of the Russian tricolor, the civil war in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the conversations of ordinary border guards - in fact, still very green boys, operations abroad, work with the local population, homesickness and much more. The life of ethnic Russians in the republic and the attitude of local Tajiks towards them after the collapse of the USSR were well shown (and there was love, but there was also hatred).

4. The battle - it takes place almost in the very end, and although there are obvious problems (both in divergence from the real battle, and with a small budget), it shows the resilience and courage of Russian soldiers defending their Homeland and local residents. The commanders behave sensibly, so that the breakthrough of the foes can be extinguished, and destroy most of the attackers. Pyrotechnics were not very much, and there is almost no blood, which surprises very much, because we are facing a historical drama, not a movie comic for kids.

So, the disadvantages: 1. Historical inaccuracies - it talks about the equipment and equipment of our border guards, because the veterans of the fighting caught this picture in too free treatment of material culture. I can't answer anything here, so I'll agree with their point of view on these little things.

2. A quick fight in the picture - in this film, the legendary battle lasts for a few hours, whereas in reality the border guards held on for eleven hours, and they were helped by turntables and even MLRS and artillery of different calibers, not to mention armored vehicles. And in the picture we will see only one APC and a couple of turntables in the very finale. And in general, it is unclear how such a small detachment of border guards (with reinforcements there were fourteen or so people) held out against hundreds of militants who had a numerical advantage, mortars and grenade launchers. Border guards are not paratroopers, their training is different.

Acting - of varying degrees of quality. Only Sergey Selin (Gritsuk), Igor Savochkin (Bobrovsky) and Rajabali Huseynov (Zakir) played well here. Chadov is not bad, but nothing outstanding. Azamat is remembered only by humor. The rest are not bad or average, and some are not very average.

The screenwriter and director Sergei Makhovikov shot the picture clearly with a soul, and it very much resembles the best works of Soviet cinema. Emotionally, the viewer is involved in the confrontation shown, and in every way wishes victory to the Russian guys and their commanders. It's not the best war movie of modern Russia, but it's not bad either. I repeat - it is very budgetary, so it had to be pulled on the enthusiasm of the participants - and it succeeded. I will put a slightly inflated estimate, because the picture deserved it.

My rating is 8 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!