August Eighth
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''August Eighth'' (russian: «Август. Восьмого», translit. ''Avgust. Vosʹmogo'') is a 2012 Russian
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
about the 2008 August War. It was produced and directed by
Dzhanik Fayziev Dzhanik Habibullaevich Fayziev (, born July 30, 1961) is an Uzbek and Russian director, producer and screenwriter. He specializes in historical adventure movies. Most notably, he directed '' The Turkish Gambit'' and '' Legend of Kolovrat'', and ...
.


Background

The film tells the story of a young single mother who must make her way to South Ossetia in order to reunite with her son whom she had sent away before the war. The story of the war is shown through two different point of view. One is the mother's and the other is the son's, who sees it in terms of a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
story about fighting robots. In comparison to ''
Olympus Inferno ''Olympus Inferno'' (russian: Олимпиус Инферно) is a 2008 film about the Russo-Georgian War and the first feature film on this subject. It is in Russian, with some English and Georgian, although a lector reads over the English and ...
'' and '' 5 Days of War'', ''August Eighth'' was not marketed as a "search for the truth" film. However, it was recognized as a socially important project, and was filmed at the expense of the Russian State Fund for Social and Economic Support of National Cinematography. Twentieth Century Fox C.I.S., a Russian distributor of
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
distributed the film. The Russian premiere took place on 21 February 2012. It premiered on television on 4 November 2012 on Channel One.


Plot

Kseniya is a 23-year-old
pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...
from
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. She is focused on her new romantic relationship. Her seven-year-old son Artyom Fadeev uses his imagination to escape the pain he feels over his parents' separation. In his fantasy, he sees himself as a superhero called "Kosmoboy". Kosmoboy together with a robot called "Edger Beroev", he imagines engaging in battles against the monster robot "Mrakovlast" (“Darklord”). On August 5, 2008, Kseniya receives a telephone call from Artyom's father Zaur, an Ossetian who serves as a peacekeeper in
South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
. Zaur asks Kseniya to send Artyom to live with Zaur's parents in Sidamonta, a village on the border between South Ossetia and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. Zaur assures Kseniya that Artyom would be safe. After some hesitation, Kseniya agrees because she wants to take a vacation in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
with her new boyfriend Yegor, who is a banker. Yegor doesn't get along with Artyom and also wants time alone with Kseniya. Kseniya tells Zaur she will only agree if he sends Artyom back when she asks. On 7 August 2008, Kseniya learns from news sources that South Ossetia has become a conflict zone. She calls Zaur and demands that Artyom be brought back to Russia. Zaur tries to convince Kseniya that Artyom is safe and happy because his parents enjoy Artyom's presence. Kseniya doesn't agree. She approaches Yegor at his bank, but he doesn't want to become involved in her family situation. The conversation becomes heated and turns to Kseniya's and Yegor's intimate relationship. The conversation continues loudly as Kseniya departs in the lift and it leaves Yegor publicly humiliated. Kseniya immediately flies to
Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...
, then takes a bus through the
Roki tunnel The Roki Tunnel (also called Roksky Tunnel, ka, როკის გვირაბი; ; russian: Рокский туннель) is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. I ...
into South Ossetia. An
anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a Missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy Armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...
is fired at her bus. A
Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
reconnaissance unit helps Kseniya and the other surviving passengers. The unit's commander, Lyoha, takes Kseniya to
Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, int ...
, the capital of South Ossetia. That night, the
Battle of Tskhinvali The Battle of Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალის ბრძოლა; russian: link=no, Бои за Цхинвали) was a battle for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway state of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle ...
begins and the central square is bombarded by Georgian
BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comba ...
rockets. Kseniya reaches the
Dzau Java ( ka, ჯავა ; os, Дзау, ''Dzaw''; russian: Джава ''Dzhava'') is a town of approximately 1,500 people in Georgia (in South Ossetia). According to Georgia's current official administrative division, Java is a main town of Java ...
refugee camp. Along the way she calls Zaur, who is driving to Sidamonta to evacuate his parents and Artyom. Kseniya and Zaur arrange to meet in Dzau. When Zaur evacuates his parents, he and they are killed by shelling from a Georgian tank. Artyom is injured and runs from the scene in deep shock. Kseniya calls Artyom on his mobile phone, but he can only say ''Mrakovlast was here... Mrakovlast killed all...''. Kseniya decides to rescue Artyom herself. Meanwhile, Artyom is hallucinating due to his injury and sinks deeper into his fantasies. Kseniya joins Zaur's friend Khasan Baroyev, known as "Ilya" on a Russian military and journalist convoy. Ilya is killed by a Georgian soldier when the convoy is ambushed. Kseniya is saved by Lyoha who is with a reconnaissance unit. Lyoha takes Kseniya to his base which is near where Artyom is hiding. En route to the base Lyoha's vehicle is attacked by a Georgian tank which he evades. At the base, Lyoha must help many refugees sheltering there and so Kseniya goes on alone. Kseniya finds Artyom who is unable to walk. When Kseniya steals a Georgian army
Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
, she and Artyom are fired upon. All seems lost but then the Georgian army is attacked with a
Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...
air strike giving Kseniya and Artyom the opportunity to escape. Kseniya and Artyom are stopped by a Georgian soldier, Aleksandr Khoshabaev. He takes pity on them and drives them towards the Russian military position. Kseniya walks over a hilltop to approaching Russian tanks. The leading tank stops right in front of her and the commander asks her if she speaks Russian. He asks her to get out of his way. Kseniya and Artyom do so and continue walking. Artyom recovers in hospital and learns the fate of his father. He and Kseniya meet with Lyoha, who tells them that the Russian forces have captured the city of Gori, resulting in Russia winning the war. Kseniya and Artyom are then returned to Russia by helicopter.


Cast


Production

The central plot is based on two true stories: a man dragged his ex-girlfriend from
South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
in August 2008; and the second on the producer's friend's son who suffered
dissociation Dissociation, in the wide sense of the word, is an act of disuniting or separating a complex object into parts. Dissociation may also refer to: * Dissociation (chemistry), general process in which molecules or ionic compounds (complexes, or salts) ...
. The film was shot from March to August 2011. Most of the scenes of
South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
were shot in
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
and
North Ossetia–Alania The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...
. Most extras were
Abkhazians Abkhazians (russian: Абхазы), or Abkhazs ( ab, Аԥсуаа, Aṕswaа, ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A l ...
, but the characters, who speak in Ossetian, were played or were dubbed by North Ossetian actors. The official trailer was created in Trailerhouse by Sundown Entertainment.August Eighth trailer
avsquad.com


Film distribution

The premiere of the film took place in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on 17 February 2012 at the cinema Pushkinski. The film was released across Russia on 21 February 2012. The premiere was planned for
Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender of the Fatherland Day (russian: День защитника Отечества ''Den' zashchitnika Otechestva''; kk, Отан қорғаушы күні; tg, Рӯзи Дорандаи Ватан; ky, Мекенди коргоочула ...
and so the film had much competition. In the first week of distribution the film was in the lead at the box office and collected more than 140,000,000 rubles (about 5,000,000 dollars) for the first weekend. In total, ''August Eighth'' netted about 10,000,000 dollars in Russian theaters, much less than the gross of Faiziyev's previous film, '' Turkish Gambit''. The début of the film with English subtitles took place in Australia on 1 September 2012 under the title ''August 8th'' at the Russian Resurrection Film Festival 2012.


Home media

In Russia, the film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on 22 March 2012 and on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on 14 June 2012. Neither edition contains any subtitles. A French dub of the movie called ''War Zone'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray in France on 7 August 2013.


See also

*''
Olympus Inferno ''Olympus Inferno'' (russian: Олимпиус Инферно) is a 2008 film about the Russo-Georgian War and the first feature film on this subject. It is in Russian, with some English and Georgian, although a lector reads over the English and ...
'' *'' 5 Days of War''


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:August Eighth 2010s action war films 2012 war drama films 2012 action thriller films 2010s science fiction war films 2012 films 2010s Russian-language films Russian action war films Russian war drama films Russian action thriller films Russian science fiction war films Films set in 2008 Films set in Georgia (country) Films set in Russia Russo-Georgian War films 20th Century Fox films Films produced by Fyodor Bondarchuk