In his review, Peter Bodie grapples with the dark themes of Words of War, starring Irish actor Ciarán Hinds.
This tense, powerful film, based on a true story, follows the struggles of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. As this dramatic biography clearly lays out, she was one tough, committed woman. She made it her mission to spotlight the corruption within Putin’s Russia during the Chechen War (1999–2009). While she had some successes, the stark fact remains that ultimately Putin still calls the shots in Moscow and Chechnya.
Director James Strong (The Great Train Robbery, Mr Bates vs the Post Office) has a background mainly in episodic television, including Doctor Who. The unevenness in the pacing of Words of War reflects this shift in narrative form.
Well-respected for her roles in film and TV, Maxine Peake's range spans from Dinnerladies to Say Nothing. However, in this film, she gives a resolute performance as Anna. Belfast actor Ciarán Hinds (The Road to Perdition, Game of Thrones) is quietly compelling as Dmitry Muratov, Anna's editor of the independent paper Novaya Gazeta. The real life Muratov would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. Ciarán's powerful, unsettling outburst as Dmitry is one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
In this era, the world was barely informed of information regarding the brutal war in Chechnya (population: 1.4 million). Politkovskaya was determined to do whatever it took to deliver hard, real-time news and highlight the need for on-the-spot war correspondents. Happy moments are rarely to be found in Words of War, but this is a film about genocide, racial suppression, mass graves, in-flight poisoning, hostage-taking, and murder, all-around grim subject matter. If there's one takeaway, it's the need to stand up and demand democracy.
The final punch on screen is this stark fact: over 1,500 war journalists have been killed in pursuit of the truth in the last 20 years. Words of War is a testament to the dedication, bravery and heroism of those correspondents who lost their lives to bring independent eyewitness accounts to the wider world.
Given the state of today's world, Words of War cements the debt of gratitude owed to Anna for her efforts. This is a film that's definitely worth seeing and absorbing.
Words of War is available to stream online now.
