''Kandagar'' (russian: Кандагар; also known as ''Kandahar'') is a 2010 Russian historical action film detailing the escape of a Russian crew from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

at the hands of

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

fighters on August 16, 1996. The film stars some of Russia's most famous actors,

Vladimir Mashkov Vladimir Lvovich Mashkov ( Russian: Владимир Львович Машков; born 27 November 1963) is a Soviet and Russian actor and director of cinema, known to Western audiences for his work in the 2001 film '' Behind Enemy Lines'' and 2 ...

, Andrei Panin and Alexander Baluyev. The movie is based on the Russian pilot's, Vladimir Sharpatov, diary. The film was released in Russia on April 4, 2010. The Andrey Kavun film is the first to depict Russians in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal from the country.

Background

On August 3, 1995 a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 from the Taliban's air force forced down a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane with seven Russian nationals on board. The aircraft was forced to land at a Taliban controlled airfield near

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

. The men were held prisoners for more than one year by the Taliban which controlled about half of Afghanistan at the time during the Afghan Civil War. The movie follows their captivity, day-to-day survival, and escape from

. Unexpected negligence from Russian diplomats caused the prisoners to take steps toward their freedom themselves. The captain was forced to teach Taliban fighters to fly the plane, and the rest of the hostages were allowed to visit their aircraft for maintenance. At some point the Russian crew worked out the escape plan, and during one of the maintenance visits for landing gear work, they were able to gain control over the plane. Despite interception efforts by Taliban base guards, which caused the aircraft to start the takeoff having only half of the runway, they were able to take off. Despite several technical difficulties immediately after takeoff, they finally gained a safe cruising altitude and speed.

Cast

* Aleksandr Baluev - Vladimir Ivanovich Sharpatov, pilot *

- Serega, co-pilot * Andrei Panin - Alexander Gotov, navigator * Alexandr Golubev - Vitek, boardwriter *

Bohdan Beniuk Bohdan Beniuk ( uk, Богдан Михайлович Бенюк; born 26 May 1957) is a Ukrainian actor of theater and cinema, politician, People's Artist of Ukraine (1996). Along with Anatoliy Khostikoiev, he is a creator of the Theatrical com ...

- Roman Vakulenko, flight engineer * Aleksandr Robak - Mark

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandahar 2010 films 2010s Russian-language films 2010s historical action films 2010s action war films Russian aviation films Russian historical action films Russian action war films Russian war drama films Films set in Afghanistan Thriller films based on actual events Films directed by Andrey Kavun Films set in 1995 Films set in 1996

Background

Cast

See also

References

External links