5 Days of War

5 Days of War

Official teaser poster
Directed by Renny Harlin
Produced by Renny Harlin
George Lascu
Mirza Davitaia
Koba Nakopia
Written by Mikko Alanne
David Battle
Starring Andy García
Val Kilmer
Richard Coyle
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Rupert Friend
Johnathon Schaech
Dean Cain
Rade Šerbedžija
Antje Traue
Heather Graham
Mikheil Gomiashvili
Mikko Nousiainen
Music by Trevor Rabin
Cinematography Checco Varese
Edited by Brian Berdan
Production
company
RexMedia
Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment (US)
Release dates
  • June 5, 2011 (Georgia)
Running time
120 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Georgian
Russian
Budget $12 million[1]
Box office $316,944[2]

5 Days of War (also known as 5 Days of August) is a 2011 action film by Finnish director Renny Harlin.[3] The story is about the Russo-Georgian War[4] over the Russian-backed breakaway republic of South Ossetia in Georgia, 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.

The film received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics.

Plot

In 2007, during the Iraq War, a Georgian contingent of the coalition forces saves the life of American reporter Thomas Anders (Rupert Friend), although one of his colleagues (Heather Graham) is killed in the process. One year later, in 2008, he returns to Los Angeles, California 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 (Richard Coyle), 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 members of the wedding party (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and the help of a Georgian soldier (Johnathon Schaech) who had earlier saved them in Iraq, their mission becomes getting their footage of an atrocity by Russian irregulars out of the country. But they find themselves faced with international apathy due to the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games. Their flight leads them to the Battle of Gori.

The film ends with a long series of testimonials from Georgian citizens who lost family members during the conflict; despite promises to the contrary, Russian forces still occupy the territory, leaving many people in Georgia displaced with homes either occupied or permanently destroyed.

Cast

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 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.[7] According to Georgian media the movie was financed by Koba Nakopia,[8] a parliamentarian from the ruling United National Movement[9] party of 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.[10][11][12]

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. The military equipment and personnel used in the film were temporarily lent by the Georgian army.[13]

Finnish actor Mikko Nousiainen, who plays the Russian villain Daniil, had been cast to play the title role in Renny Harlin's abortive project Mannerheim.

Premiere

Theatrical release

Reception

5 Days of War has received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 33% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 33 reviews.[22] Metacritic gives the film score 31/100 based on reviews from 14 critics.[23] It has been poorly received by other film critics, with Bloomberg and Washington Post both giving it a one-star rating.[24][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.[26]

Home media

5 Days of War was released on DVD (Region 2)[27] and Blu-ray (Region B)[28] on 13 June 2011.[29] 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.[30]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Luke Savage. "Renny Harlin interview: 5 Days Of War, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and directing low-budget war films". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  2. "5 DAYS OF WAR". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  3. Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 122. ISBN 978-1908215017.
  4. June 14, 2011. "Renny Harlin Exclusive Interview". Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  5. Lomsadze, Giorgi; Sophia Mizante (21 October 2009). "Georgia: Hollywood takes over Tbilisi for film about war with Russia". Georgian Daily reprinted from Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  6. "Mikheil Gomiashvili". NYTimes.com Movies & TV. The New York Times (All Movie Guide and Baseline).
  7. Shuster, Simon (2009-12-04). "Russia and Georgia Go to War Again — on Screen". time.com. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  8. http://www.media.ge/en/node/41573
  9. http://www.parliament.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=157&cevri_id=1908
  10. http://www.thebusinessoffilmdaily.com/cannes2010/D8_S2.html
  11. "Hollywood's take on the Russia-Georgia war". economist.com. 2011-06-21. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  12. "5 Days of August: High on beauty, short on substance?". Georgian America. Georgia Today. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  13. June 13, 2011. "An Exclusive Interview With Renny Harlin on 5 Days of War". Heyuguys.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  14. Sharon Stone's charity evening in Tbilisi collects about $1 million Retrieved: June 14, 2011
  15. ""5 Days of August" Premiere in Tbilisi, Georgia - Movie Premieres". Zimbio. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  16. "Check out the crowd at the premiere of 5 Days of War in Tbili... on Twitpic". Twitpic.com. 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  17. "5 Days of War - Premiere Report on MSN Video". Video.uk.msn.com. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  18. "5 Days of War London Premiere Pictures". Monsters and Critics. 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  19. "Показ "Пять дней августа" в кинотеатрах Тбилиси продлится около месяца | Культура | Новости-Грузия". Newsgeorgia.ru. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  20. "5 Days of War - Directed by Renny Harlin | Rupert Friend, Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia, Dean Cain, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Heather Graham | Film". indieWIRE. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  21. "5 dni wojny". Filmweb.pl. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  22. "5 Days of War". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  23. "Critic Reviews for 5 Days of War at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  24. Warner, Rick (19 August 2011). "Renny Harlin’s Phony Russian Baddies". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  25. DeFore, John (19 August 2011). "5 Days of War". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  26. "5 Days of War (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  27. "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. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  28. "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. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  29. June 13, 2011 (2011-05-05). "5 Days of War – DVD Review". Heyuguys.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  30. "5 Days of War". Amazon.com. Retrieved 9 June 2011.

External links