A Hijacking

source: A Hijacking

I have traversed the Gulf of Aden twice, the piece of ocean between Yemen and Somalia notorious for it's pirates. I was somewhat familiar with the methods that pirates use when commandeering ships to demand ransoms, but to appreciate the events of Tobias Lindholm's A Hijacking no sailing experience is necessary. Even though the film is a representation of how an actual Hijacking would take place: Quick, precise, and severe, the film spends little time on the mechanics of how the pirates actually board. This is not an action film. We learn that a high-speed boat has approached and boarded effortlessly, that's it. More important to the film is what happens while the pirates are on board. The first thing the pirates do, even before starting negotiations for money, is demand food. The ship's cook, played brilliantly by Danish actor Pilou Asbaek, becomes the pirate's gopher, and an ad-hoc negotiator between the pirates and the ship's owners. Conditions on board are miserable. Shocking even. The cook and 2 other crewmen are kept in a small closet for weeks, four other crewmembers below deck. They're not allowed out to relive themselves in a toilet; they must use a corner of the room. My training on ships did not include images like these. There was no training about how to interact with maniacs with automatic weapons. The job of casting the actors that play the pirates is ingenious. All the actor's performances are in the Somali language (I think). Their interactions with the ship's crew are so authentic that I'm guessing none of these men were trained actors. Probably just local Somali men recruited by the casting director, but I can't verify this. If they were actors, they're the best I've ever seen. Contentious negotiations between the ship's owners and the pirates leave questions. The hijacking ends without incident, almost, but the negotiations take months. Could the ship's owner have done more? Given in to the pirate's demands sooner? Gotten the crew home faster? Undoubtedly questions that need to be asked of the real hijackings that take place routinely in the Gulf, where we get little more than a single paragraph in the news about some, and no more. Overall I would have given this film a 9 if it weren't for a few sloppy edits that could not be ignored. This brought the overall score down to an 8. More reviews drumgodchris.blogspot.com

There is something very unique in the way Scandinavian directors and scriptwriters build a story. Realism is always a core element in their plots, irrespective of the genre, unlike films from other parts of the world. Tobias Lindholm's Kapringen (A Hijacking) is one such film. At first glance, it will definitely remind you of Captain Phillips because the theme revolves around a vessel hijacking by a group of Somali Pirates. However, the resemblance ends here. Although the Maersk Alabama Hijacking (basis for Capt. Phillips) unfolded in a typical Hollywood manner in real life, most vessel hijackings are quite the opposite. Tobias masterfully captures the scenes behind such a hijacking – the lives of the sailors held in captivity, sandwiched between merciless pirates and their stubborn company officials who refuse to let the pirates dictate terms. The movie is indeed a lesson in negotiation and crisis management. It is also a disturbing account of how corporates weigh their balance sheet more than the lives of their own men, who spent months in hostile waters, away from their loved ones. The actors do justice to their roles and put in credible performances. However, the show stealer is Tobias's well written script (I read that he has also penned 'The Hunt', which is in race for the Best Oscar for Foreign film). The negotiation scenes are shot with such realism that it will remind you of one of those boardroom conference calls in your office. I also read in one of the forums that the phone calls were actually made between Denmark and Somalia, so that the voice quality remains poor (with a slight echo) as anybody would experience over a long distance call. Unlike Captain Phillips, Kapringen will definitely leave you devastated and in agony over decisions and actions that could have otherwise altered the outcome. In the end, they were all greedy; some for money, others for mere survival. To me, the movie is a tribute to those countless sailors and their everyday struggle, far away from home, and everything they truly love. A must watch. Verdict: 7.5/10

It is often said that the jailer becomes a prisoner too. For as he watches the prisoner, he also becomes a prisoner since he cannot leave his post. In this movie, we find that that all the parties are prisoners. The obvious prisoners are the crew, but then we have the Somalis who are guarding them. The negotiator, Omar, who declares himself a non-pirate and a middleman representing communications with the Somali pirates said that he cannot leave until the ransom is paid. On the other side, we have the family of the crew who is helpless in the ordeal. Then we have Peter, the self-assured CEO of the Danish shipping company who has chosen to negotiate with the Somalis. He may seem less of a prisoner at first, but as time progresses, we see that he is also in a cell of a different kind. He cannot afford to lose focus, he cannot afford to lose his cool, he cannot afford to offer too much money lest it backfire, and he has to keep his shipping board members satisfied and give comfort to the families of the crew. The real surprise is in who gives Peter the key to free him from his cell. Perhaps the final symbolism is at the conclusion in seeing him get into his car and drive it out into the streets. We see the garage door slowly open as Peter's car leaves and then it slowly settles back down afterwards. A prisoner has just been set free and the movie watchers never doubted this would happen, but we wondered when and how. The movie is a masterful game of chess played over a period of weeks and months, but with the stake of human life if an error is made. The stress is overbearing on all parties and the movie watcher waits to see if anyone cracks first. All of this is heightened by poor communication with language, distance, and technology failures and as the conditions deteriorate with the progression of time. Additionally the relationships shift. The Somalis are the feared enemy in one scene, like comrades in another, and then feared again in yet another. The shipping company is slow to come to terms and you wonder who is friend and who is foe with lives hanging in the balance. If you want to see a gritty movie from a dual vantage point, then consider "A Hijacking" a treat. It is not Hollywood predictable. Highly recommended!

With the big budget film Captain Phillips arriving in the UK recently it reminded me that I had this much smaller film sitting unwatched in my queue. I don't know the details of Greengrass' film, but I presume the basic principle is the same as this film, which sees Somali pirates take over a Danish cargo ship and demand millions of US dollars for its release. The drama in this case unfolds in the boardroom of the company (focused on CEO Ludvigsen) and on the ship (focused on cook Mikkel). The film puts an emphasis on realism in how it delivers the story to the viewer; conference calls between the CEO and the pirates are filmed as conference calls (complete with time lag and echo) and the expert in maritime security that the fictional company brings in is indeed not an actor but someone who does this for a living for a shipping company. It helps that this sense of realism is so deeply embedded in the techniques because it does make the film work very well in terms of tension. This isn't Under Siege where the cook takes on the hijackers, nor is it a film where the dramatic score does the heavy lifting – if anything the film sits back and lets the people just be in this situation. As a result it is a more toned back film in regard to the delivery but it works well to make everything feel tense and unpredictable – the calls are as gripping as the scenes of imminent personal danger on the ship. The cast are a big part of this. At first I was concerned that I would not be able to get into the actors since so many were familiar faces to me from Forbrydelsen, Borgen, Game of Thrones and some other shows. As it was though I didn't struggle at all because everyone plays their characters so well that I forgot they were ever anyone else. Malling was the biggest jump for me as he is very different here than when I have seen him before, but he does it very well, letting the cracks show but never overdoing it for a specific scene. Asbaek has the toughest role as it is full of danger and emotion and he convinces throughout, sharing his frustration and fear with the viewer. Supporting roles are generally good with Salim, Moller and others doing good. I particularly liked Porter; occasionally he is a little clunky when working with the actors as a performance, but generally when he is in "the room" where he works in real life then he is a great presence and again really helps the sense of realism. Kapringen maybe doesn't have the large budget or production aims of a bigger film, but the focus on realism in the making of the film pays off to produce a story that is tense and engaging throughout. Well worth a look.

On one level this could appear a simple film with a simple plot. Some people may struggle with scenes where there isn't much dialogue, where you have to let what you are seeing tell you how the various characters are feeling and what they might be thinking. Personally I felt this made the film feel very realistic as it didn't try to do the thinking for you. I particularly appreciated way the film creates the balance of tension between what is happening on the ship, and what is happening back 'home' with the negotiating team. You then realise that whilst Mikkel Hartmann is hostage, the CEO of the company Peter Ludvigsen is also a 'hostage' of sorts as he battles with his emotions in order to do the 'right' thing. A very enjoyable movie!

I happen to have seen this back to back with Captain Phillips another movie about a Somali hijacking. I have to say Captain Phillips was much better. It definitely felt more engaging and tugged on your emotions more. A Hijacking fell short a lot I thought. I didn't really feel the tension that much. I also felt like it wasn't as realistic. It seemed like we were missing a lot of things like government intervention. The Somalis were very convincing in both movies. I hope they used native Somalis and paid them well. I didn't like the fact that we didn't know what type of vessel the ship was in A Hijacking.

"A Hijacking" features excellent performances from two protagonists, delivered in an unflinching fashion that lays out the scenario, and simply allows the raw emotions to transpire on their own. The timing of the release on Blu-Ray coincides with the theatrical release of "Captain Phillips," which stars Tom Hanks and directed by Paul Greengrass. The films both tell the same story of cargo freighters hijacked by Somali pirates who seek millions in ransom. Aside from the similar subject matter however, the two films could not be any more different. "Captain Phillips" is an appealing action thriller concerned with presenting a satisfying, pulse-pounding conclusion for its audience. "A Hijacking" is a tense, grounded-in-reality based drama without the sense of comfort of a predetermined finale. A Danish cargo ship named the "MV Rozen" is en route to Mumbai when Somali renegades gain control of the vessel and demand millions for the return of the ship's seven-man crew. Negotiations ensue between the corporate office and the pirates that follow the give-and-take of everyday business deals, with one important difference. In this case, the goods are human beings. Shot with hand-held cameras, the movie cross-cuts between two perspectives: the captured vessel's cook Mikkel Hartmann (Pilou Asbæk), and the maritime company's hands-on CEO Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling). At the outset, the two characters share a common interest, but as the bartering drags on for months, the uncertainty of an outcome takes these two men in very different directions. Danish director/writer Tobias Lindholm perfectly balances the dual psyche of the captive Mikkel and corporate CEO Peter, two psychologically exhausted protagonists in remarkably different ways. A tense, slowly unwinding ticking-clock drama this may be, but the film is as much a character study, both the powerful and the subordinate, existing under extreme duress with life or death consequences attached to their decisions. The film isn't a white knuckle ride and the pacing is slow at times, but this is one of the cases where that's exactly the point. Lindholm's account of a contemporary piracy situation doesn't offer the commercial appeal of "Captain Phillips," but it is nonetheless completely engaging and riveting material. There could have been several predictable avenues taken by Lindholm when telling this harrowing tale of survival and perseverance, but instead he charts into unexpected territory, and delivers real drama.

An act of piracy brings together 3 different worlds. 1. The pirates. People who live in extreme poverty and see no benefit from the world trade that profits buyers or sellers of cargo and of course ship-owners and recruit fellow famished locals telling them that there's money in attacking these big ships. 2. The sailors. Those who spent up to months a time at sea as cargo is carried from A to B, with no skills in dealing with hostile invaders on board. 3. The ship management company. The people who either own the vessel in question or run it on behalf of the owner. Pirates expect owners to dig deep in their pockets and by an unexpected takeover of a vessel as well as convincing the crew that they will die, the pirates hope that the owners would give in to their demands. The owners, as it has become clear in this film, being all suited and booted and speaking from a comfortable corporate environment are trying to bargain with the pirates. Bargaining is all they do; they bargain with shipyards, charterers, insurers etc. Without discounting for a minute that they must bargain otherwise the demands will balloon out of proportion, they are unaware of the strain the crew are going through. Interesting stimulating and highly watchable this is an interesting documentary that adds to one's perspective on a matter very known, but not acted upon although it should be pointed out that piracy and poverty go hand in hand. If world authorities want to act on piracy, they must act on poverty first.

I was surprised at how understated and emotionally barren this film was - especially for the subject matter. You will catch the vague implication of some emotional drive between the lines, but its severely lacking in terms of cinematic quality. The truth is that you can easily save yourself 100 minutes by reading a full synopsis of the story. Someone could just tell you what happens - and then there would be no point in seeing the film. There's just precious little else in the film to actually enjoy - in terms of atmosphere, script, emotional dynamics or any humanity. I also found the ending to be trite and a cheap way to try and deepen what had gone before it. Without the distraction of the ending, the film is incredibly boring and far too straight-laced to make any worthy contribution to cinema. For once, I'm looking forward to the Hollywood remake, where hopefully Paul Greengrass will do the story justice.