| If the can ever be a realistic movie made about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the one which can come close is Kevin Reynolds' The Beast of War. This movie was released in 1988, close to the final days of the Afghanistan War before Gorbachev completely his promise to the West to withdraw all Soviet forces. Although this movie tries to be an average anti-war film, it shows the Mujahideen cut-throats as poor little freedom fighters, and degrades the Soviet war effort. The Russians are all played by American actors, speaking American style English and use California surfer slang. They behave more like American high school stoners as opposed to Soviet soldiers. The Mujahideen, however, are acurately portrays the Mujahideen view of women as well as their lack of unity, along with them speaking Pashtu. The is also the Mujahideen's inability to properly use sophisticated weapons such as the RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). The Beast of War takes place in 1981, just two years after the Soviet intervention. One morning in a small Afghan village in the Kandahar province (populated with Mujahideen) wakes up to the sounds of four Soviet T-62 tanks attacking the village. As they are taken by surprise, the have no chance of putting up any sort of resistance. The Soviet tanks are led by Daskal, a tyrannical tank commander who's own errors and instability lead to a game of cat and mouse between his tank and the vengful Mujahideen villagers in a cul-de-sac. The Tankers Daskal (played by George Dzundza) is the tank commander. He is a veteran Soviet soldier, who's most precious thing in the world is his tank. His obsession with tanks began at the age of 8 when he fought in the Battle of Stalingrad after his father, mother, and older brother had been killed in battle. He became a professional at destroying Nazi tanks with molotov cocktails which earned him the nickname "tankboy" by the Soviet soldiers. After the war when he got older, Daskal enlisted in the Soviet army as a tanker, and participated in every Soviet combat operation during the Cold War without ever losing a single tank (at most his tanks sustained repairable damages). Now in Afghanistan he is a tank commander who rules his tank with an iron fist. He grows distrustful of several of his tankers, and the cat and mouse situation make him even more tyrannical that leads to making decisions in which his luck with his tank runs out. Konstantin Koverchenko (played by Jason Patric) is the tank driver. He is a young and good soldier in the Soviet army, but he is also very insubordinate. He had been demoted several times which eventually landed him as a tanker. He doesn't believe he is fighting a just war, but a pointless one. He as a good relationship with several of the tankers (except Daskal and Kaminsky), especially Samad, the Afghan tanker. Samad would come to explain to him the Afghan code of honor which come in handy later on in the movie. Koverchenko becomes defiant to Daskal authority which leads to arguments, that keep getting more intense. Daskal sensed mutiny with Konstantin and abandons him to the Mujahideen, and ends up sealing his own fate. Kaminsky (played by Don Harvey) is the tank gunner. He is an excellent Soviet soldier, but also a hot head and a smart ass. Kaminsky is the best gunner in the tank division in which Daskal excuses him from any wrong doings. Kaminsky is 100% loyal to Daskal and supports him no matter what. When Daskal begins to mistrust Samad and Koverchenko, Kaminsky also keeps a keen eye. This also takes him into an ongoing conflict with Koverchenko. He also enjoys making Golikov's life a living hell with his pranks. Kaminsky sounds more like a surfer than a Soviet soldier. However, Kaminsky himself even had his limits with Daskal. Anton Golikov (played by Stephen Baldwin) is the tank loader. He is a mild manner, young and naive Soviet soldier who tries to be as good as he can. He has good comradeship with Koverchenko and Samad. But his inexperience makes him a target for Kaminsky's pranks. Golikov too opposes Daskal and his decisions (especially when Daskal abandons Koverchenko), but Anton lacks any courage to stand up to his commander. Samad (played by Erick Avari) is the Afghan tanker. His function was recording the days events in a log book until Daskal relieves him. Samad is in the Afghan People's Army and a member of the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. He supports and defends the Saur Revolution of 1978, and fights to defend it. The reason being that he feels that Afghanistan is too far behind the world, and that Soviet military aid will secure the Revolution from the Mujahideen reactionaries. Samad's son studies in Moscow in a cultural exchange program. Although a Communist, he is also a practicing Muslim. In spite of all this, Daskal grows distrustful of Samad and suspects he is a traitor. Samad is certain that he will win Daskal's respect in time, despite Koverchenko's warning. He is fatally proven wrong. The Rebels Taj Mohammed (played by Cuban actor Steven Bauer) is the over ambitious leader of the Mujahideen party hunting the Russian tank. When the four Russian tanks destroy the village, his whole family is killed. he takes the title "Khan" from his older brother and vows revenge. In doing so Taj Mohammed is forced to call a truce with his cousin whom he hates, and constanly bashed verbally during his quest for revenge. He apparently needs coaching from his wise uncle to keep him from losing his nerve. Once Koverchenko is abandoned, the Mujahideen find him, and is spared by Taj Mohammed. A friendship forms to the final showdown with Daskal. [Where the hell did Steven Bauer learn to speak Pashtu?] Akbar (played by Indian Kabir Bedi) is the wise uncle of Taj Mohammed. He is fairly mild mannered, and is useful in coaching Taj Mohammed to be a true "Khan". Abkar convinces Taj Mohammed to accept the truce offer by his cousin. He participates in this vengful journey, but later receives an injury which is later fatal. Moustafa (played by Chaim Girafi) is the stubborn and arrogant cousin of Taj Mohammed. He is quite sadistic and sarcastic at the same time. Moustafa, aside from being a Mujahideen soldier is a scavenger. He enjoys collecting souvenirs from dead Soviet soldiers. He wears a Soviet army jacket decorated with Soviet medals. During the hunt for the tank, Moustafa in constantly critisized by his cousin. He is also anxious to kill Russians with his knife. Iskandar (played by Israeli actor Yitzhak Ne'eman) is a holy man that the Mujahideen band encounter while he has a fire going. He gives the nickname "Beast" to the tank and compares the hunt to the duel between David and Goliath. Iskandar is a moderate minded Mujahid, hence doesn't crave Russian blood. To Iskandar his participation is to guide the way to the Soviet tank and for the Mujahideen to destroy it. Sherina (played by Shoshi Marciano) is the leader of the women. She is also vengful, not only because of her village being destroyed, but also her fiancee Shahzaman (played by Israeli actor Roberto Pollak) was "martyred" by Daskal's tank. He was also Taj Mohammed's brother. When trying to join the hunt for the tank on several occasions Sherina and the women are told to go stand down and go back to the village by the men, and she is armed with just two grenades. However, she plays a big role in the last fight between the Mujahideen and Daskal's tank. Despite its position, The Beast of War is really a quite good movie. The main characters were well introduced and developed just fine; with each character playing his own role in the cat and mouse chase. The story line and the dialogue were well put together. Considering the cast, its a wonder why The Beast of War gain so little popularity. This movie should be available to rent or purchase and any video rental or movie/music store. |
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