Secuestro express (2005)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jonathan Jakubowicz

Writer:

Jonathan Jakubowicz (writer)

Release Date:

10 March 2006 (Mexico)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Young couple Carla (Maestro) and Martin (Leroux) are abducted by three men and spend a terrifying night in Caracas as they wait for Carla's father (Blades) to hand over the ransom.

Plot Keywords:

Caracas | Drugs | Money | Ransom | Gay

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Mía Maestro	...	Carla
Rubén Blades	...	Carla's Father
Carlos Julio Molina	...	Trece
Pedro Perez	...	Budu
Carlos Madera	...	Niga Sibilino
Jean Paul Leroux	...	Martin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dalila Colombo
Elba Escobar	...	Drugstore Cashier
Dimas González	...	Guardia
Miguel Ángel Landa	...	Police's Councilor.
Balmore Moreno	...	Oficial Briceno
Ermahn Ospina	...	Marcelo
Rider	...	Cangrejo

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, drug use, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

USA:86 min | Argentina:90 min

Country:

Venezuela

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Venezuela:PG-13 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Italy:VM14 | Singapore:R21 | Greece:K-13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Caracas, Venezuela

Company:

Tres Malandros

Trivia:

Other than Mia Maestro and Ruben Blades, the entire cast of the movie is of non professional actors. They did six months of rehearsals to get to the level we see on screen.

Quotes:

Budu: Put some butter on that!

Movie Connections:

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

War Dogs

Works almost too well

Years ago, Warner Brothers re-released its two landmark gangster films of the thirties, "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy" with a brief prologue that said the gangster was a problem "we the public must eventually solve." Writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz's "Secuestro Express" ends with a epilogue that notes that "half the people of the world suffer from malnutrition, the other half from obesity." It's a stunning message, but it almost gets lost because the film it caps is a stunning thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat and for the most part, keeps you from focusing much on the social issues involved.

Set in Caracas,Venezuela, the film examines what has become almost a regional pastime in Latin America, kidnapping. In this case, its quick, down and dirty snatches of middle class people whose families can pony up relatively modest amounts of money in exchange for getting their loved ones back in one piece. It's literally "Express kidnapping." This particular abduction is of a trendy young upper middle class couple snatched as they snort coke and toke marijuana in their SUV outside a trendy nightclub. That all plays a role in the story, for the nominal leader of the trio of thugs castigates the victims for rubbing their wealth in people's faces by wearing expensive clothes and driving pricey cars. But the kidnappers are not revolutionaries, just minor hoodlums who, in a bid to collect just 40-thousand dollars in ransom, terrorize two perfectly normal people.

Carlos Julio Molina, Pedro Perez and Carlos Madera are outstanding as the hoodlums, as different from standard Hollywood criminals as night is from day. Jean Paul Leroux is also good as the male half of the trendy couple, a man with secrets of his own.

But the star of this film is the female kidnap victim, played by the beautiful and unreasonably talented Mia Maestro. She danced her way through "Tango," she has sung her way through numerous stage musicals and this time, she gets to act her way though 24 hours of hell. She handles the role magnificently, her emotions skipping from rage to flirtatious manipulation, to utter horror when she believes she is about to be raped and murdered.

For those who have seen her on "Alias," playing Jennifer Garner's sister in spying, Maestro more than lives up to the promise she showed there.

This movie is a jolting, sometimes shocking picture that often makes you uncomfortable, but never bores you. See this thriller, but don't ignore its message.