Emmanuella Chriqui and Rupert Friend Star in ‘5 Days of War’.

To commemorate Memorial Day, ‘5 Days of War’, directed by Renny Harlin in 2010, says it all.

The International Movie Data Base (IMDB) is the industry standard for critical and customer satisfaction. It gave 5 Days of War a 5.6 rating. Thank goodness I’ve learned I don’t fit in with the ‘mainstream’ or I might have missed this powerful film. Thanks to XFinity and YouTube, lots of great movies are now available for free!

5 Days of War, directed by Renny Harlin,  starring Rupert Friend, Emmanuella Chriqui (from Entourage), Andy Garcia, Richard Coyle, Val Kilmer and Heather Graham, is not a film. It’s a memorial to the people that died in the brief but brutal conflict between Georgia and Russia in 2008. It is heartbreaking, and soul searching. These regular everyday people are fighting for freedom, the kind of freedom we often take for granted.

It’s like one day, you are enjoying life, your home,  your family, and the next day you are fighting for your life.

This is a ‘war story’, a ‘love story’ a ‘thrilling story’, and it’s based on truth. Being a screenwriter I am always asking myself, what can I learn from this film? A journalist, played by Rupert Friend and his cameraman, played by Richard Coyle, are experienced in the danger and brutality of recording war. This film takes every opportunity to reveal the emotional journey these men experience, along with Emmanuella Chriqui, who portrays a native Georgian woman.

If you are used to ‘paint by number’ entertainment, you might give 5 Days of War a 5.6 satisfaction rating, because you are inconvenienced by having to think. I give it a 10! It volleys back and forth between the breathtaking action of war, and profound dialogue about war and freedom. When the men discuss war, it is a war of words! You have to slow yourself down from the action to fully engage in the meaningful dialogue. “Freedom does not surrender”! It also touches on the importance and selflessness of bravery, and how each person can tap that resource inside themselves.

If you want to preserve the memory of not only Veterans of war, but also casualties,  5 Days of War is a good way to honor them. The slow scroll of the closing credits  honors all the participants who believed in the message of this fine and underrated film.

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