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Russia’s war in Chechnya is a puzzle to most westerners,
an obscure but somehow notable conflict appearing periodically on
the nightly news. This documentary, which features combat footage
shot within Chechnya and interviews with Chechen fighters and civilians,
does much to untangle this riddle. The first thing an outsider has
to grasp is that any distinction between fighters and civilians
is blurred, as the Chechens consider themselves warriors first,
and farmers or oil-field workers second. This traditional warrior
culture, with its roots grounded in centuries of conflict with Russian
adversaries, is deeply entrenched. And it’s intensified by
the deep Islamic faith of the Chechens, which holds that falling
while defending the homeland earns the warrior martyrdom. Much of
the footage in this documentary is shot with handheld video gear
in the field during actual combat operations, and what it might
lack aesthetically is more than made up for with its immediacy and
a distinctive atmospheric quality. The warriors profiled, including
the Chechen hero Shamil Basayev, are unique characters, and hearing
them speak and seeing evidence of some of their exploits provides
invaluable insight into the conflict that has become a thorn in
the side of modern Russia. -Robert J. McNamara (1999) |
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The
Wild West may be gone, but there are still a few places on the planet
where everyday events are, well, larger than life. One such place
is Chechnya, where Dodge Billingsley went to shoot film and do interviews
for a documentary on the region. The result is one of those rare
films that hits you in the gut, but makes you a bit more informed
at the same time. The most striking elements are the combat footage.
No special effects or set-ups here. It's the real thing. Then come
the interviews with the participants, Chechens whom have been fighting
Russians for years. These people come from a different culture,
and the voices and images enable you to connect with it. Not necessarily
agree with it, but certainly understand the Chechen thought process.
For a documentary, there's also a rather unusual plot; namely the
search for the key interviews. This quest was not without danger,
and you get it in tense words and pictures. This is all original
footage, shot on location, sometimes while the shooting was still
going on. But it's not just entertaining, it also brings the viewer
up to date on one of the more exotic hot spots in the news. It's
not fiction, but fact, and compellingly presented fact at that. -Jim Dunnigan, Author of How to Make War and A Quick and Dirty Guide to War |
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IMMORTAL
FORTRESS: A LOOK INSIDE CHECHNYA’S WARRIOR CULTURE Dodge Billingsley did what few have dared; he traveled
to Chechnya’s capital of Grozny to separate the myth from
reality of the Chechen “warrior” spirit and their dedication
to independence and a fierce opposition to Russian involvement.
Immortal Fortress is a dynamic documentary of the journey to the
middle of Chechnya, laced with interviews with Chechen In early 1944, under Stalin’s orders, more than a half million Chechens were deported to the Steppes of Siberia. Within five years more than a quarter of them were dead. It was not until 1957, some four years after Stalin’s death, that the Chechens were officially allowed to return home. The legacy of that era has hardened the hearts and spirit of the Chechen people. Shamil Basayev is perhaps the best known of the Chechen leaders. From the days of war in 1994 to the more recent fighting in Dagestan and around Grozny today, Basayev’s name rings as one who must be dealt with. As a testament to the Chechen acceptance of Billingsley as an impartial and independent journalist, he was not only allowed to travel under the protection of the Chechen forces, but also granted an interview with Basayev himself. The documentary offers the viewer an insight into
the mindset of the Chechen fighters, young and old. Billingsley
allows the story to be told from their viewpoint without judgement.
The video he shot while on this assignment is laced with actual
combat footage provided by Basayev. In November of 1999, as Russian forces move ever
so close to the Chechen capital again, it seems that they are doing
so relatively at will and with little stiff resistance from the
forces loyal to an independent Chechnya. However, after watching
Immortal Fortress, you would conclude that now is not a good time
to be a Russian anywhere near Chechnya in late 1999. As one of the
young Chechen fighters said in a chilling passage, “We’ll
go to war again if they come again.” |
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