Movie Review: "A Hijacking"
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Zachary Mandell
Jun 26, 2013, 12:59:44 PM6/26/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Zachary Mandell
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Article Title: Movie Review: "A Hijacking"
Author: Zachary Mandell
Word Count: 796
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1847688&ca=Entertainment
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1847688
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1847688
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Rating: R (Language)
Length: 99 minutes
Release Date: June 14, 2013
Directed by: Tobias Lindholm
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Stars: 3.5 out of 5
One of the most alarming nightmares of the modern world is to be out, minding your own business, and suddenly be seized by unintelligible violent maniacs whose motives are unknown and whose methods are violent in the extreme. Even worse is to imagine that the kidnappers want a hefty ransom, only to have the negotiations break down because they've demanded the money from a corporate CEO, one who now has to decide how valuable his employees really are.
This nightmare actually has played out in real life on scores of occasions. One of the more colorful anachronisms of the last decade has been the resurgence of piracy around the Horn of Africa. Short of a dirigible war or a sudden outbreak of smallpox, it's difficult to imagine a more outdated threat than to see a swarm of scurvy dogs swarm over the gunwales and demand booty. Yet happen it does, and for several years, it's been serious business in the waters of the Indian Ocean. "A Hijacking" is a tense thriller built around the very real modus operandi of the modern pirate scourge.
In the film, the crew of a Danish cargo ship finds itself taken hostage by Somali pirates who demand a ransom of millions from the government and company officials in Copenhagen. As the negotiations drag on, the pirates become more desperate and dangerous. Meanwhile, aboard ship, two members of the crew, Mikkel (Pilou Asb�k) and Peter (S�ren Malling), struggle to survive the deadly encounter in the lawless environment of the open ocean.
The screenplay for "A Hijacking" is tightly written and manages to convey bowstring-taut tension with something as simple as stage direction. The lines, though translated, flow naturally from the characters in such a way that the audience is left with the feeling that yes, that is what this character would say in this situation. The personalities depicted in "A Hijacking" feel real and fit together brilliantly over the arc of the film's plot.
The cast of "A Hijacking" acted out that script with passion and a deep understanding that transcends the language barrier. With a single gesture, Pilou Asb�k makes his viewers feel the despair of not only being lost at sea, but of being cast adrift in every sense: by his captain, his employer, and his own government back home. He's utterly alone out there, and he's going to project that from the screen with intensity and fervor. Dar Salim brings a sublime evil to his role as the heavy in this picture. As befits the former Qotho from "Game of Thrones," his presence on the screen is dark and brooding, punctuated by bouts of explosive anger so real that the sweat stands out and audience members flinch.
Tobias Lindholm handled much of the heavy lifting for this film as both the writer and director. A seasoned veteran of many productions, Lindholm has the experience as an actor to understand the performances he's called upon to evoke from his actors. As the screenwriter, Lindholm owned this project in a way that few directors ever manage. That advantage comes through in myriad ways, but never more clearly than in the way each shot of the movie seems to be layered with meaning, as if Lindholm the writer had an entire world in mind that Lindholm the director can only imperfectly translate to the big screen.
Also of note in this film are what are often thought of as "secondary" elements. The lighting was exquisitely balanced to set just the right mood from one shot to the next. The establishing scenes of the crew make an audience member feel the ordinary hardship of their lives, the cold grit of the on-ship action scenes leave you frozen and dripping with brine. In contrast, the scenes set in the remote capital of Copenhagen are lit so as to be warm and safe, thus driving home the contrast between the men of the MV Rozen and those who are responsible for bartering with their lives.
"A Hijacking" was almost entirely a Danish project from the beginning. Unlike the case with many foreign films, however, the tight action sequences and smartly written script have broken out of their native Denmark to achieve wide acclaim as a stirring tale of high seas adventure, taut political action, and the very real human story of ordinary men cast adrift at sea to seek their fortunes. There could hardly be a more fitting metaphor for the state of the world "A Hijacking" depicts.
About The Author: As a long time fan of Hollywood I was able to carve out the perfect career in the entertainment industry by writing initially for celebrity news sites and am now the owner of http://MovieRoomReviews.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1847688
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Zachary Mandell
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1847688
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1847688
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Movie Review: "A Hijacking"
Author: Zachary Mandell
Word Count: 796
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1847688&ca=Entertainment
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1847688
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1847688
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Rating: R (Language)
Length: 99 minutes
Release Date: June 14, 2013
Directed by: Tobias Lindholm
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Stars: 3.5 out of 5
One of the most alarming nightmares of the modern world is to be out, minding your own business, and suddenly be seized by unintelligible violent maniacs whose motives are unknown and whose methods are violent in the extreme. Even worse is to imagine that the kidnappers want a hefty ransom, only to have the negotiations break down because they've demanded the money from a corporate CEO, one who now has to decide how valuable his employees really are.
This nightmare actually has played out in real life on scores of occasions. One of the more colorful anachronisms of the last decade has been the resurgence of piracy around the Horn of Africa. Short of a dirigible war or a sudden outbreak of smallpox, it's difficult to imagine a more outdated threat than to see a swarm of scurvy dogs swarm over the gunwales and demand booty. Yet happen it does, and for several years, it's been serious business in the waters of the Indian Ocean. "A Hijacking" is a tense thriller built around the very real modus operandi of the modern pirate scourge.
In the film, the crew of a Danish cargo ship finds itself taken hostage by Somali pirates who demand a ransom of millions from the government and company officials in Copenhagen. As the negotiations drag on, the pirates become more desperate and dangerous. Meanwhile, aboard ship, two members of the crew, Mikkel (Pilou Asb�k) and Peter (S�ren Malling), struggle to survive the deadly encounter in the lawless environment of the open ocean.
The screenplay for "A Hijacking" is tightly written and manages to convey bowstring-taut tension with something as simple as stage direction. The lines, though translated, flow naturally from the characters in such a way that the audience is left with the feeling that yes, that is what this character would say in this situation. The personalities depicted in "A Hijacking" feel real and fit together brilliantly over the arc of the film's plot.
The cast of "A Hijacking" acted out that script with passion and a deep understanding that transcends the language barrier. With a single gesture, Pilou Asb�k makes his viewers feel the despair of not only being lost at sea, but of being cast adrift in every sense: by his captain, his employer, and his own government back home. He's utterly alone out there, and he's going to project that from the screen with intensity and fervor. Dar Salim brings a sublime evil to his role as the heavy in this picture. As befits the former Qotho from "Game of Thrones," his presence on the screen is dark and brooding, punctuated by bouts of explosive anger so real that the sweat stands out and audience members flinch.
Tobias Lindholm handled much of the heavy lifting for this film as both the writer and director. A seasoned veteran of many productions, Lindholm has the experience as an actor to understand the performances he's called upon to evoke from his actors. As the screenwriter, Lindholm owned this project in a way that few directors ever manage. That advantage comes through in myriad ways, but never more clearly than in the way each shot of the movie seems to be layered with meaning, as if Lindholm the writer had an entire world in mind that Lindholm the director can only imperfectly translate to the big screen.
Also of note in this film are what are often thought of as "secondary" elements. The lighting was exquisitely balanced to set just the right mood from one shot to the next. The establishing scenes of the crew make an audience member feel the ordinary hardship of their lives, the cold grit of the on-ship action scenes leave you frozen and dripping with brine. In contrast, the scenes set in the remote capital of Copenhagen are lit so as to be warm and safe, thus driving home the contrast between the men of the MV Rozen and those who are responsible for bartering with their lives.
"A Hijacking" was almost entirely a Danish project from the beginning. Unlike the case with many foreign films, however, the tight action sequences and smartly written script have broken out of their native Denmark to achieve wide acclaim as a stirring tale of high seas adventure, taut political action, and the very real human story of ordinary men cast adrift at sea to seek their fortunes. There could hardly be a more fitting metaphor for the state of the world "A Hijacking" depicts.
About The Author: As a long time fan of Hollywood I was able to carve out the perfect career in the entertainment industry by writing initially for celebrity news sites and am now the owner of http://MovieRoomReviews.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1847688
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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