I watched the 2011 film 5 Days
of War about the short conflict in August 2008 between Georgia and Russia
over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia yesterday evening and was shocked
at its dreadful lack of balance. In depicting the South Ossetians/Russians as
brutal war criminals, while the Georgians are perceived as innocent victims
incapable of malice, the filmmakers committed their own crime against history.
It was of course the Georgians who launched the initial
attack on the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali on August 9th, which led to
a rapid escalation of the tensions which had been building up between the
sides.
Shortly after the brief war had ended I wrote this piece for the
Press Gazette which shows that there was an entirely different version of
events to be believed than is granted by 5 Days of War, which incredibly
features some illustrious names in acting, such as Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia and
Heather Graham, albeit in a cameo role.
Plenty
of reviewers at the time also condemned the film for its blatant propaganda
and Human Rights
Watch were reportedly not happy with it despite the organisation being
cited in what is a breathtakingly crass piece of filmmaking.
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