A tense, chilling drama following the emotional journeys of a ship's crew as they are hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Two of cinema's coolest tough guys come head to head for the first time in their careers under Michael Mann's stylish and explosive thriller and they don't disappoint. Al Pacino plays Vincent Hanna, an LAPD detective whose number one priority in life is to out to try and foil criminals attempting heists and murders. Robert De Niro is the equally determined Neil McCauley, who commits high-end scores with his regular and trusted crew including a Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore and an early appearance by the now legendary and cult figure of Danny Trejo.
Ultimately the two giants of acting come head to head when Neil takes a score where the rewards are bearer bonds. Things don't quite go to plan when the crew recruit the psychopathic Waingro played by Kevin Gage who doesn't act according to plan.
What makes this film well worth the watch are the acting talents on view which also include Academy Award Winners Jon Voight, and a young Natalie Portman, Diane Venora, Dennis Haysbert, Wes Studi and Ashley Judd. On top of that you have the stylish hues of the film that we've grown accustomed to when watching a Michael Mann film. Above all though, you have a rare cops and robbers film where the filmmakers have taken the time to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the main players in the film and their desires and motivations so that you end up with a story that's character driven rather than plot driven. Somewhere in the middle of the film is an explosive gun battle between the criminal crew and the LAPD that's as seemingly real a scene as you're ever likely to lay your eyes and ears on.
One can argue that the film is a little drawn out and at times the character studies are overly unnecessary and the characters don't always abide by their code, especially when it comes to some of the decision making skills of Robert De Niro's character. He makes one particular choice that's particulrly dubious which prolongs the film and its outcome considerably which disappointed me somewhat. There's also some characters whose dialogue is poorly written and make you think the situation is unbelievable and I speak of Tom Noonan who plays Kelso, the guy who searches out the banks that can be robbed, in particular. Lastly the overall feeling you get once you've viewed the film is how dysfunctional everyone is in the film and generally how vile some of the characters are and at times the film is too stylised for some of the horrors we see but you find yourself totally immersed and engrossed whilst watching the film because the characters are so well acted and believable and that's the mark of a well made film.
This DVD has plenty of additional featurettes around the making of the film, that famous scene where De Niro and Pacino meet for a coffee and material around which the film was inspired. They don't make films like this anymore!
Based on the true story of a Danish ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates somewhere in the Indian Ocean, this thought provoking and gripping film gives a unique insight into what it might be like to not only be a victim of a hijacking but also tells the story from the point of view of the shipping company's CEO as he tries to negotiate the release of the crew over a period of time that becomes long and drawn out.
Adding further authentic realism to the film, it was shot on board the actual hijacked ship not far from where it was taken by the pirates and used real hostages from the incident.
Obviously being a Danish film it chose as its protagonists, two Danish characters whose eyes we see the film from. It would have been nice and bold to see the film from one of the foreign crew's points of view or even the Somali viewpoint to try to understand what truly drives them to take such drastic action. It also would be nice to see a film about Somalis made in the West that doesn't show them as simply pirates. Nonetheless, if there are some 1000 hostages currently being held on board ships by pirates then it is important to raise the plight of this situation.
The strength of the film lies in its performances from all its international cast, each maintaining their native tongues and mannerisms, from the expert brought in to assist the CEO with negotiations, right through to the to the crew and the Somali pirates. You feel as if you're actually there and you're never quite sure how the characters might behave from day to day as the situation ebbs and flows. There are no far fetched heroics which adds to the helpless situation and makes you question the ethics of the shipping company's position when it comes to the absurdity how much we value human life. What was also very odd though may have been true about thew film is the lack of involvement by the military. Nowadays, any incident involving hostage taking or even accidents and at the drop of a hat, you see military personnel being deployed to the area, not only the country where the vessel originated from but elsewhere. In this film, that scenario was absent or never shown. I found this rather peculiar over time, especially knowing that large corporations find it hard to pay out any money and numerous government's stances about not negotiating with terrorists. This is a fascinating piece of work that's overall very believable.
Danish director Tobias Lindholm (whose previous credits include writing last year's terrific drama The Hunt and many episodes of hit TV series Borgen) skilfully blurs the lines between fact and fiction with this tense and powerful thriller about a cargo ship taken over by Somali pirates.
The film switches readily between the hostages and their captors on board the ship and the company who owns the ship back on the mainland. It focuses specifically on the ship's cook who is tasked by the pirates' negotiator to help end the ordeal and the head of the company who takes it on himself, against expert advisement, to come to a financial agreement.
The film has an almost slavish obsession with capturing a gritty docudrama feel and it benefits the drama greatly. It never resorts to easy answers, emotional manipulation or contrived plot twists - the upcoming Hollywood version of the situation, Captain Philips starring Tom Hanks, probably won't be as adept at avoiding these pitfalls - instead offering brutal and uncompromising realism.
We never feel like this is an artificial situation (Lindholm drew from true events, including using a real life security specialist) and are kept firmly in the chaotic action as time ticks by, with the hostages becoming more and more weary as the suits back in the comfort of the company office try and think of ways to bring this awful situation to an end. We see much of the events from the perspective of the hostages who are cooped up in the small rooms within the bowels of the ship, forced to live among their own filth for months. And we are left in the dark a lot of the time right alongside the hostages as they wonder just what the cold and calculating pirates will ultimately decide to do with them as they hold control over them at the barrel of AK-47s.
The cast all add to the believability of the situation, from Pilou Asbæk as the cook desperate to get back to his family to Søren Malling as the CEO of the hijacked company who is caught between trying to suppress emotions so as to not give the pirates the upper hand and showing he's not just a faceless head of a company that only cares about money. The film says some interesting things about human (and humane) responsibility in life or death situations, the worth of a human life in big business and how different kinds of people react to tense situations. It's a fascinating character study as much as it is a nail-biting reality-infused thriller and one of the very best films of the year.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. The cargo ship MV Rozen is heading for harbour when it is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Amongst the men on board are the ship's cook Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk, Borgen) and the engineer Jan (Roland Møller), who along with the rest of the seamen are taken hostage in a cynical game of life and death. With the demand for a ransom of millions of dollars a psychological drama unfolds between the CEO of the shipping company (Søren Malling The Killing, Borgen) and the Somali pirates. Actors Pilou Asbaek, Soren Malling, Dar Salim, Roland Moller, Gary Skjoldmose Porter, Abdihakin Asgar, Amalie Ihle Alstrup, Amalie Vulff Andersen, Linda Laursen, Keith Pearson, Allan Arnby, Bettina Schjerlund, Derrick Dharmakan & Jumamvita Director Tobias Lindholm Certificate 15 years and over Year 2012 Languages Danish Subtitles English Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.
Danish thriller in which the crew of a cargo ship is held hostage by Somali pirates. After hijacking the ship, the pirates demand a ransom be paid by the firm who owns the freighter. The head of the company enters into negotiations with them while seeking advice about how best to handle the situation, but when the ransom isn't met things becomes increasingly dangerous for those on board the vessel.
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