Watch A Prayer for Beslan

The movie A Prayer for Beslan, released in 2005, pays tribute to the victims of the Beslan school hostage crisis that occurred in September 2004 in North Ossetia, Russia. The film is a documentary that follows the experiences of the surviving families and witnesses of the tragedy. The siege lasted for three days and resulted in the deaths of over 330 people - most of them children. The movie opens with interviews from survivors that detail the events surrounding the crisis. The hostages were students, teachers and parents who were celebrating the beginning of the school year. The terrorists, a group from Chechnya, seized the school and took the children hostage with the aim of achieving political goals.

The movie tries to capture the emotional turmoil and pain that the families and witnesses of the tragedy went through during and after the crisis. The camera captures the expression of sorrow, confusion and anger that the community felt. The documentary also sheds light on the inadequate responses of the authorities during the hostage crisis. The absence of emergency response teams, lack of communication between security forces, and inefficiency of the rescue operation are all highlighted.

The movie delves into some of the details of the crisis that may not have been reported widely. For example, the story of a man who lost his wife and son during the crisis is heart-wrenching. He shares his decision to commit suicide, but his brother talked him out of it. Another interviewee was an eye-witness to the death of her son, who she watched die before her eyes. The movie attempts to bring to the forefront the devastation that the crisis wrought upon the families of the affected children.

The movie is not without flaws. For instance, the documentary does not provide a detailed background of the political conflict between Russia and Chechnya that led to the terrorists' actions. Instead, it focuses on the survivors' tales, personalizing the tragedy. That being said, the movie does draw attention to the fall-outs of wars that can result in innocent people becoming pawns for larger political gains.

A Prayer for Beslan is a potent film that captures the laments of the survivors and their pain. It offers a reminder that the wounds of the tragedy have not healed even years after the siege. The film also shines a light on the fallibility of the authorities during a crisis and the damaging effects of political strife. The documentary aims to pay homage to the children who lost their lives in Beslan, offers prayers for their families, and serves as a call for peace.

A Prayer for Beslan is a 2005 documentary with a runtime of 43 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.0.