House of Fools (Dom durakov) (R)

synopsis

Based on a true story set during the Chechen war in 1996, the patients in an isolated psychiatric hospital in Caucasus, on the Russian/Chechnya border, are oblivious to the coming political events, sheltered in their own isolated world. As Russian troops near, the medical staff mysteriously vanishes--abandoning their unbalanced charges who must now fend for themselves. A group of Chechen soldiers settles in with the psychologically challenged patients--an ethnically mixed group of Jews, Muslims, Russians, Chechens, who serve as a microcosm of their world outside. Janna, a beautiful young Chechen patient, finds her only peace in her accordion, and in her dreams of being rescued by her imaginary fiancé, Canadian superstar Bryan Adams--that is, until she becomes attached to Chechen soldier Ahmed. However, with the arrival of Russian troops, the maddening realities of war arrive at the asylum, with the presence of the patients adding to the bitter irony of war's horrors. Subsequently, the lovely Janna once again waits for her Canadian superstar to come and whisk her away--this time from the Russian troops.