The Beast is an interesting anti-war movie. It tells the story of a small band of Mujahadeen fighters hunting a Russian tank in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation. The tank, initially part of a larger tank group, had just erupted in a small Afghanistan village, hunting Mujahadeen fighters. The result is a decimated village, with few survivors, and hardly any Mujahadeen casualties. When the village fighters return to view the aftermath, they vow revenge, and set out across the desert in pursuit of the tank -- the one in question, that strays from the others in its group.
In the tank, the commander, Daskal (played by George Dzundza), slowly descends into madness. He trusts no one, not even his crew. The tank driver, Koverchenko (played by Jason Patric), reads Daskal like a book, and knows what is coming can't be good. When Daskal turns on his crew, Koverchenko finds himself abandoned -- left for dead, chained against a rock in the desert. Here's where the story takes an interesting turn. Koverchenko is rescued by the Mujahadeen, who spare him as he pleads for nanawatay -- the Pashtunwali concept of sanctuary, given to enemies who have surrendered. Taken in by the Mujahadeen, Koverchenko joins them in the hunt, knowing that he is the only one who can kill the tank with the Mujahadeen's RPG.
Koverchenko's transformation from Russian soldier to Mujahadeen fighter happens slowly through the movie. Koverchenko is disillusioned with the war -- disillusioned with the way it's being fought, and doesn't see a whole lot of point to it. He doesn't follow orders like a good soldier, but thinks and questions, earning for himself a series of demotions from where he was in army intelligence. The audience is led to empathized with Koverchenko, and see the fruitlessness of the war from his perspective. The filmmakers also uses the clever device of having the Russians speak English in the movie -- making it easier for the audience to get to closer to the Russian characters -- but then, having the Mujahadeen speak Pashto, which isn't subtitled for the audience. The audience has to work to feel for the Mujahadeen fighters, but sympathizing with their plight is easy.
Seeing this movie now, with the recasting of the Mujahadeen fighters as Taliban terrorists is interesting. The US propaganda machine has worked hard at transforming old allies in the cold war to enemies of today. Like this movie, the world is hardly black and white, and there are hardly good guys and bad guys -- just lots of shades of grey. The movie makes you think -- about a group of people who we in the west sometimes fear, sometimes hate, sometimes want to rescue and sometimes just want to have go away. The Beast of War is largely unknown war movie -- but it shouldn't be. It has a message, and it's right -- war sucks and sometimes, makes no sense.
is an interesting anti-war movie. It tells the story of a small band of Mujahadeen fighters hunting a Russian tank in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation. The tank, initially part of a larger tank group, had just erupted in a small Afghanistan village, hunting Mujahadeen fighters. The result is a decimated village, with few survivors, and hardly any Mujahadeen casualties. When the village fighters return to view the aftermath, they vow revenge, and set out across the desert in pursuit of the tank -- the one in question, that strays from the others in its group.In the tank, the commander, Daskal (played by George Dzundza), slowly descends into madness. He trusts no one, not even his crew. The tank driver, Koverchenko (played by Jason Patric), reads Daskal like a book, and knows what is coming can't be good. When Daskal turns on his crew, Koverchenko finds himself abandoned -- left for dead, chained against a rock in the desert. Here's where the story takes an interesting turn. Koverchenko is rescued by the Mujahadeen, who spare him as he pleads for nanawatay -- the Pashtunwali concept of sanctuary, given to enemies who have surrendered. Taken in by the Mujahadeen, Koverchenko joins them in the hunt, knowing that he is the only one who can kill the tank with the Mujahadeen's RPG.
Koverchenko's transformation from Russian soldier to Mujahadeen fighter happens slowly through the movie. Koverchenko is disillusioned with the war -- disillusioned with the way it's being fought, and doesn't see a whole lot of point to it. He doesn't follow orders like a good soldier, but thinks and questions, earning for himself a series of demotions from where he was in army intelligence. The audience is led to empathized with Koverchenko, and see the fruitlessness of the war from his perspective. The filmmakers also uses the clever device of having the Russians speak English in the movie -- making it easier for the audience to get to closer to the Russian characters -- but then, having the Mujahadeen speak Pashto, which isn't subtitled for the audience. The audience has to work to feel for the Mujahadeen fighters, but sympathizing with their plight is easy.
Seeing this movie now, with the recasting of the Mujahadeen fighters as Taliban terrorists is interesting. The US propaganda machine has worked hard at transforming old allies in the cold war to enemies of today. Like this movie, the world is hardly black and white, and there are hardly good guys and bad guys -- just lots of shades of grey. The movie makes you think -- about a group of people who we in the west sometimes fear, sometimes hate, sometimes want to rescue and sometimes just want to have go away. The Beast of War is largely unknown war movie -- but it shouldn't be. It has a message, and it's right -- war sucks and sometimes, makes no sense.
Koverchenko to Daskal: Sorry, sir. Not much of a war. No Stalingrad. How is it that we're the Nazis this time?
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