9th Company
Eagle Entertainment
R4 DVD
Russian with
English subtitles or American overdub.
When
the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan they learned a lesson that the U.S. should
have learned in Vietnam but didn’t – you can’t successfully
fight a high-tech war against a low-tech country. You can bomb a village
of mud bricks but all you do is make a new lot of enemies. The people of
Afghanistan formed the resistance group called the Mujahideen,
a civilian militia operating as guerrillas. Armed with U.S and captured weapons
the Mujahideen attacked Soviet bases, convoys and
aircraft. After a while every Soviet convoy was escorted by well-armed
helicopters that also acted as aerial cover for aircraft landings and takeoffs. Soviet outposts were also a popular target.
It
is 1988 and the war is reaching its climax. A group of young Russian recruits
is sent to a three month training camp before going to Afghanistan. Drill Sgt Digalo drives them mercilessly and from his scarred face it
looks like he knows what he is talking about. When the recruits arrive in
Afghanistan the plane taking the men they have replaced is shot down by
missiles. It is not much of a welcome to the hostile country. They are sent to
an outpost where they are tasked to send out patrols to keep the Mujahideen away from their convoys and aircraft. It is
generally boring in between occasional brief firefights.
In their down time we learn a lot about the men and their reasons for joining.
One wants to get away from the police, another who is an artist wants to
experience life so he can depict it better in his paintings. Their old drill
sergeant wants to get back into combat, but he is regarded as a bit suicidal by
his superiors. Meanwhile they train to operate in the hostile territory. They
have little contact with the Afghanis who are regarded as treacherous. Nobody
seems concerned about their point of view on the Russian invasion.
Finally
the Mujahideen attack the outpost in force.
Except
for the final attack there is little combat shown. Like most soldiers away from
home they make their own entertainment. During the battle we will see how good
their training and support is. Some will not survive the experience.
The
film seems to have a lot in common with the old classic All Quiet on the Western Front – the same experiences of battle,
the same self-reliance when headquarters can’t help them, the same motives
apart from a noticeable lack of patriotism among the men.
The
film is visually stunning and well-acted. It does not preach – it is a film
about soldiers, not politics. The only weak point is in the overdub in America
accents with American slang and swearing. I suggest you leave the film in
Russian and turn on the subtitles.
Reviews appear on the Synergy website with
a single cover image. In the digital and print edition, reviews appear with
multiple images and with expanded content.
This review will appear in Volume 4 No. 2 of the digital and print
edition of Synergy.
We recommend you download
the free digital edition (or buy the print edition)
to get the most from Synergy. The print and digital editions of Synergy also
include a large selection of articles and features not found on the website. If
you have a limited download quota you can view the digital edition via the Issuu viewer on the digital edition page.
If you came to this page directly (and
missed our menu), click here to go to the
front page of Synergy Website or use the following link: http://www.synergy-magazine.com