90 Second Minute

Rebel soldiers lead two foreign journalists deep into a war-torn forest to a place where they have taken civilian hostages. I saw this when it was screened in Liverpool and a couple of the images have stayed with me, probably because it seemed very based in "reality". The director has managed to convey a sense of voyeurism, as if the viewer is witnessing events that they are are not really meant to see. Paul Usher (Brookside, The Bill) is excellent, as are the hostages. He gives a very filmic performance with a characterisation that's a million miles away from his TV work. That some of the dialogue is in Russian (subtitled) only adds to the documentary/fly on the wall style atmosphere, which leads the viewer down a very uncomfortable path.