9th Company
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 They became heroes of a forgotten war.
One of the best war films in years, and the first film of its type to be made in Russia; 9th Company follows a group of young volunteer soldiers through basic training to the frontline in Afghanistan in the final years of the Soviet Union. Their mission is to keep a hold of a mountain range in order to protect the Soviet supply convoy. “Throughout all of history, no one has ever managed to conquer Afghanistan” Around 15,000 Soviet Union soldiers were killed in the war in Afghanistan, a conflict that has largely been forgotten by the western world however this really was the Soviet Union’s Vietnam. In fact, the war was so painful for the Russian people, that the new Russia distanced itself from the whole affair. This is the first film about the war to come out of Russia, telling the true story of the fate of the 9th Company who fought with honour throughout the war. Similar in style to Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, there are effectively two parts to this film. For the first hour, a brutal training sergeant Dygalo (Porechenkov) bullies the new recruits to prepare them for battle and have them perform tasks such as taking a mountain side with heavy packs, long runs and even has them beating up each other. The reason behind this is that Dygalo has already been to Afghanistan and he has been scarred both physically and mentally by the experience. He is desperate to return but always forbidden from doing so and he wishes to toughen these boys up in order so that they can survive. As for these recruits, the lads (all around twenty years of age); bond for the first hour of the film and give each other nicknames like Sparrow, Pinochet and Savage – many of which are lost in translation. While this first hour is very Russian – a way of setting the scene and preparing the audience, there is still enough for anyone who knows nothing about the war to enjoy. The second part of the film then shifts the story up to high gear as the newly commissioned soldiers are flown in to Afghanistan. As soon as the group land at the airport, one of the transport planes carrying a unit that had served for 2 years out of Afghanistan, is shot down and bursts into flames attempting to land… it’s an ominous opening for the war section and adds to the feeling of unease for the characters we have been introduced to and grown to like over the past hour. Incidentally, talking on the special features disc, the filmmakers point out that this one shot cost them nearly half a million dollars to shoot. It is difficult to talk about the second hour of the film without spoiling the plot of the film – suffice to say that the action scenes are gripping and often shocking. I say shocking because plot wise, the film continuously does the unexpected, based on a Russian true story that is unknown in the west, this never pulls its punches – none of our characters are safe from being slaughtered. A moving, brutally honest Russian film, this is one of the best war films in years because it feels so authentic. The filmmakers decided to film the movie in sequence, therefore we follow our young troop as they grow on screen – they have physically changed by the end of the movie. The battle scenes and special effects are amazing – simply because when the script called for blowing up a village, rather than use CGI… they actually blew up a village – again making this feel much more authentic. 9th Company never dwells on the reasons for the war or the politics at home but instead concentrates on the human tragedy of the conflict. This is a window into a forgotten time about heroes that should not be forgotten. A film that all fans of war films will enjoy and a great alternative to the American Vietnam movies for which we have grown accustomed. Fyodor Bondarchuk ... Khokhol Aleksei Chadov ... Vorobey Mikhail Yevlanov ... Ryaba Ivan Kokorin ... Chugun Artyom Mikhalkov ... Stas Konstantin Kryukov ... Gioconda Artur Smolyaninov ... Lyutyi Mikhail Porechenkov ... Praporshik Dygalo Irina Rakhmanova ... Belosnezhka - 'Snow White' Aleksei Serebryakov ... Kapitan Mikhail Yefremov ... Dembel Aleksei Kravchenko ... Kapitan Bystrov Andrei Krasko ... Kompolka v Afgane Stanislav Govorukhin ... Kompolka v Uchebke Aleksandr Bashirov ... Pomidor Download Torrent 
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Great movie, good story, told on excellent view!
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by KLAXXON
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