5 Days of War
5 Days of War (also known as 5 Days of August) is a 2011 action film by Finnish director Renny Harlin. The story is about the 2008 Russo-Georgian war,[3] including the events leading up to the conflict.
The film was released in Georgia as 5 Days of August, and in other countries as 5 Days of War and also City on Fire.
Plot
The film starts with a brief scene in Iraq where the Georgian contingent of the coalition forces saves the life of an American reporter Thomas Anders. After Anders loses one of his colleagues in Iraq, he returns to Los Angeles but soon goes to Georgia on the advice of some of his friends in Tbilisi, who suspect that a large conflict is brewing. He, along with his cameraman Sebastian Ganz, delve deeper into Georgian life as conflict escalates and they get caught in the crossfire when an air raid strikes a local wedding they stumble upon. With the help of a Georgian soldier who saved them in Iraq, their mission becomes to get their report out of the country to raise awareness of violence they have witnessed.
Cast
- Andy García as Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Georgia
- Kenneth Cranham as Michael Stilton, an English war reporter
- Dean Cain as Chris Bailot, secretary of Saakashvili
- Emmanuelle Chriqui as Tatia, a young Georgian woman
- Rupert Friend as Thomas Anders, an American reporter
- Richard Coyle as Sebastian Ganz, an English reporter
- Johnathon Schaech as Rezo Avaliani, a young Georgian officer
- Val Kilmer as "Dutchman", Dutch journalist[4]
- Antje Traue as Zoe, an American reporter
- Heather Graham as Miriam, an American reporter in Iraq
- Rade Serbedzija as Col. Alexandr Demidov Russian badie
- Sergo Shvedkov as Temur Iakobashvili, Georgian Minister of Reintegration
- Steven Robertson as Davit Kezerashvili, Georgian Defense Minister
- Alan McKenna as Alexander Lomaia, Georgian Representative to the U.N.
- Malkhaz Abuladze as Mayor of Tbilisi, Giorgi Ugulava
- Givi Sikharulidze as Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania
- Zura Tsintsqiladze as Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia
Production
Filming started in October 2009, in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Filming took 36 days with a budget of 12 million dollars.[1]
According to the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, the film was not financed by the Georgian government, but one of the producers, David Imedashvili, said that the initial funding for the project came from a Georgian government fund.[5] According to Georgian media the movie was financed by Koba Nakopia[6], a parliamentarian from the ruling United National Movement[7] party of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. Also credited as producer are director Renny Harlin, George Lascu and Mirza Davitaia, the current Georgian State Minister for "diaspora issues", who at the time of filming was the Georgian Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sports.[8][9][10]
One of the buildings of the Georgian Presidential administration was used for filming parts of the movie. Some members of the special effects team were Russian and had previously worked on Night Watch (2004 film). The military equipment and personnel used in the film were temporarily lent by the Georgian army.[11]
Premiere
Theatrical release
Reception
5 Days of War has received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 35% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 31 reviews.[19] Metacritic gives the film score 31/100 based on reviews from 14 critics.[20] However, it has been poorly received by many film critics, with Bloomberg and Washington Post both giving it an extremely poor one star rating.[21][22]
Anna Neistat of Human Rights Watch said that in the current political climate, the film is dangerous, as it uses selective exaggerations of Russian and South Ossetian wrongdoings, whilst totally ignoring Georgian wrongdoings against Ossetians. She further stated, that the film "portrays Russians and Ossetians as barbaric beasts and Georgians as peace angels."[23][24] Joshua Foust echoed these sentiments, and stated that the film is "essentially Georgian propaganda", and that it is "not an accurate portrayal of what happened, nor is it an especially honest analysis of the issues that led up to it."[25]
5 Days of War opened in limited release in the United States on August 19, 2011 in two theatres in New York City and Washington D.C. It grossed $6,254 in its opening weekend.[2]
Home media
5 Days of War was released on DVD (Region 2)[26] and Blu-ray (Region B)[27] on 13th June 2011.[28] The DVD is a one-disc set. The Blu-ray is a one-disc set that includes DTS-HD 5.1 sound, as well as subtitles, in English, German and French.[29]
See also
References
- ^ a b Luke Savage. "Renny Harlin interview: 5 Days Of War, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and directing low-budget war films". http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/938756/renny_harlin_interview_5_days_of_war_the_long_kiss_goodnight_and_directing_lowbudget_war_films.html. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
- ^ a b "5 Days of War (2011)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=5daysofwar.htm. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ June 14, 2011. "Renny Harlin Exclusive Interview". http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/Renny+Harlin-10251.html. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
- ^ Lomsadze, Giorgi; Sophia Mizante (21 October 2009). "Georgia: Hollywood takes over Tbilisi for film about war with Russia". Georgian Daily reprinted from Eurasianet.org. http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15349&Itemid=134. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ Shuster, Simon (2009-12-04). "Russia and Georgia Go to War Again — on Screen". time.com. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1944601,00.html?xid=rss-arts&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Fentertainment+%28TIME%3A+Top+Arts+Stories%29. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ http://www.media.ge/en/node/41573
- ^ http://www.parliament.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=157&cevri_id=1908
- ^ http://www.thebusinessoffilmdaily.com/cannes2010/D8_S2.html
- ^ "Hollywood's take on the Russia-Georgia war". economist.com. 2011-06-21. http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/06/film-georgia. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ "5 Days of August: High on beauty, short on substance?". Georgian America. Georgia Today. http://georgianamerica.com/eng/news/5_days_of_august__high_on_beauty__short_on_substance_3011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ June 13, 2011. "An Exclusive Interview With Renny Harlin on 5 Days of War". Heyuguys.co.uk. http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/06/13/an-exclusive-interview-with-renny-harlin/. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ Sharon Stone's charity evening in Tbilisi collects about $1 million Retrieved: June 14, 2011
- ^ ""5 Days of August" Premiere in Tbilisi, Georgia - Movie Premieres". Zimbio. http://www.zimbio.com/Movie+Premieres/articles/XPua7iUoy9t/5+Days+August+Premiere+Tbilisi+Georgia. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "Check out the crowd at the premiere of 5 Days of War in Tbili... on Twitpic". Twitpic.com. 2011-06-06. http://twitpic.com/57pwh4. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "5 Days of War - Premiere Report on MSN Video". Video.uk.msn.com. http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/5-days-of-war-premiere-report/xdd629wp. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "5 Days of War London Premiere Pictures". Monsters and Critics. 2011-06-09. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/features/article_1644637.php/5-Days-of-War-London-Premiere-Pictures. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "Показ "Пять дней августа" в кинотеатрах Тбилиси продлится около месяца | Культура | Новости-Грузия". Newsgeorgia.ru. http://www.newsgeorgia.ru/culture/20110606/213979325.html. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "5 Days of War - Directed by Renny Harlin | Rupert Friend, Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia, Dean Cain, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Heather Graham | Film". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/film/5_days_of_war/. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "5 Days of War". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/5_days_of_war/. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ "Critic Reviews for 5 Days of War at Metacritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/5-days-of-war/critic-reviews. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Warner, Rick (19 August 2011). "Renny Harlin’s Phony Russian Baddies". Bloomberg L.P.. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-19/renny-harlin-s-russian-baddies-john-sayles-s-amigo-movies.html. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ DeFore, John (19 August 2011). "5 Days of War". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/5-days-of-war,1209292/critic-review.html. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Pape, Eric (12 August 2011 (14 August for the print edition)). "Seeking Drama In a Conflict That’s Still Raw". New York Times. p. AR12. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/movies/5-days-of-war-renny-harlin-on-russian-georgian-conflict.html. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ Lacey, Liam (26 August 2011). "5 Days of War: Georgia’s war gets the Hollywood treatment". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/5-days-of-war-georgias-war-gets-the-hollywood-treatment/article2142263/. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ Foust, Joshua (7 August 2011). "'5 Days of War': A Bitter Conflict, With No Heroes". The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/5-days-of-war-a-bitter-conflict-with-no-heroes/243220/. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ "Five Days of War [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Rupert Friend, Emmanuelle Chirqui, Richard Coyle, Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia, Renny Harlin, Mikko Alanne: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. 2009-09-09. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004KKX1BQ/. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "Five Days of War [Blu-ray]: Amazon.co.uk: Rupert Friend, Emmanuelle Chirqui, Richard Coyle, Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia, Renny Harlin, Mikko Alanne: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. 2009-09-09. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004KKX198/. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ June 13, 2011 (2011-05-05). "5 Days of War – DVD Review". Heyuguys.co.uk. http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/06/13/5-days-of-war-dvd-review/. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ "5 Days of War". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0052PKJE0. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
External links