5 Days of War (MA). Director: Renny Harlin. Starring: Rupert Friend, Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia. 113 minutes
5 Days of War is a timely film. It arrives at the same moment that Rupert Murdoch's News International media empire finds istelf with more than just egg on its face over the News of the World phone hacking scandal. As the world watches this real-world story unfold of journalism at its most prurient and base, 5 Days of War pays tribute to journalism at its most noble and courageous.
'In the early part of my career I got to make some movies that were entertaining and successful but I always felt that I was missing something,' reflects director Renny Harlin. With 5 Days of War, he says, 'I have made a movie that is about something and that has meaning'.
The film takes place during the Russian invasion of the sovereign (former Soviet) state of Georgia in 2008. It follows the plight of a group of journalists deep within the conflcit zone, who risk their lives in order to capture and broadcast the 'truth' of the unfolding events. Their evidence includes footage of acts of brutality committed by militants engaged by the Russian military.
Harlin describes it as an anti-war film. It opens, somewhat tritely, with the famous misquote commonly attributed to early 20th century US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson, that 'The first casualty of war is truth', and with a dedication to all war journalists who have lost their lives while documenting conflict (at least three foreign journalists were killed during the Russia-Georgia episode).
His fictional but 'based on fact' film displays technical proficiency and attention to realism. It was shot on location, and the filmmakers had access to large numbers of military vehicles and weaponry supplied by the Georgian military, minimising the need for CGI. The actors were provided with training by US Marines who were in the country readying local troops for duty in Afghanistan.
Notably, director of photography Checco Varese is a former news cameraman with extensive experience filming in conflict zones in Columbia, Bosnia and Chechnya. His camerawork lends the film an authentic, newsy feel that places the viewer in the midst of events.
But sadly this is not a good film. Its shallow characterisations and lack of emotional engagement, and its plethora of explosions and blood-gushing gun violence, put it is closer to the 'entertaining and successful' films of Harlin's earlier career (mostly