Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3.5/4
"The Beast" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 04/30/2012
An liberal conscript Russian soldier in Afghanistan suffers at the hands of an obsessive tyrannical commander. Later he is abandoned to the mercies of the pursuing Afghan rebels for refusing to execute a Muslim crewmate and learns to understand his erstwhile enemies, as they join forces in a quest for vengeance. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is a rarely discussed topic in movies, and their campaign is often referred to as the "Russian Vietnam"; in fact the subject matter of a young crew lost in hostile territory combined with it's dreamlike atmosphere actually reminded me a little of a dusty Apocalypse Now. It's obvious where Reynolds' sympathies lie from the outset, as a small rural village is destroyed by Russian bombs and tanks, their well poisoned and women armed with rocks …
