Harlin making Russia-Georgia war film

Finnish-born action movie director Renny Harlin says he plans to make a big-screen drama about the South Ossetian conflict with a strong anti-war message.

Harlin’s film credits include Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island, Deep Blue Sea and Die Hard 2.

The Guardian reported Harlin is scheduled to start shooting the as-yet-untitled, low-budget film next month on location near where the five-day war between Russia and Georgia was fought place last August.

I’ve waited a long time to find something with substance and reality, the newspaper quoted Harlin as saying.

I want to make a film that says something about the human condition, and even if only a few people see this and feel its impact and its anti-war message, then I will have done something that’s important and I will be proud of it, he said. When I got this script two weeks ago, it was exactly what I had been looking for, a great human story, with tragic, serious overtones. I saw it as my opportunity to use my experience in action films to tell the story of a complex conflict that is impartial but makes a strong anti-war statement.