Summaries

A French woman who works for a non-governmental organization forms a special relationship with a lost young boy in war-torn Chechnya in 1999.

The three children of Chechnyan family are separated by the Russian invasion in 1999. The middle child, 9 year old Hadji, believing his older sister Raissa is dead along with his parents finds a place to leave his baby brother and gets swept up in the migration of survivors away from the war front. The refugees cross out of Chechnya into the town of Nazran in the Republic of Inguishetia in the Russian Federation where Hadji is left at a refugee center. Hadji is befriended by a young Frenchwoman Carole who is documenting the events for the Human Rights Committee of the European Union. Hadji is not speaking at all and Carole doesn't speak Chechnian but Carole provides for Hadji and develops a supportive relationship with him until she can find out his story and what to do with him. Raissa follows Hadji's journey to try to reunite with her two brothers. A second story-line follows a 19 year old Russian student Kolia who gets arrested with marijuana and sent into the army to avoid jail. He goes through training and ends up fighting in Chechnya where he is present at Hadji's family's town when the Russian troops arrive.—Prairiekid

Details

Keywords
  • war crime
  • chechnya
  • second chechen war
  • reference to boris yeltsin
  • ingushetia russia
Genres
  • Drama
  • War
Release date Nov 25, 2014
Countries of origin France Georgia
Official sites Official site
Language English Russian French Chechen
Filming locations Tbilisi, Georgia
Production companies Wild Bunch La Petite Reine La Classe Américaine

Box office

Budget $25000000
Gross worldwide $434957

Tech specs

Runtime 2h 15m
Color Color
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

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