The Escape (2009)
"Flugten" (original title)

A Danish journalist is taken hostage in Afghanistan by a terror group that threatens to kill her if Denmark does not withdraw their troops from the country.

Director:

Kathrine Windfeld

Writers:

Mette Heeno (screenplay), Rasmus Heisterberg (screenplay),

Stars:

Iben Hjejle, Lars Mikkelsen, Faegh Zamani

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Iben Hjejle	...	Rikke Lyngvig
Lars Mikkelsen	...	Thomas Jargil
Faegh Zamani	...	Nazir Osmani
Henrik Prip	...	Arne Hansen
Sonja Richter	...	Sara Jargil
Vibeke Hastrup	...	Hanne Hvidtfeldt
Søren Spanning	...	Jesper Bech
Mikael Birkkjær	...	Claes Kielland
Søren Sætter-Lassen	...	Steffensen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dina Al-Erhayem	...	Journalist
Rafi Mohammed Bayan	...	Ali
Jette Beckmann	...	Trafic Radio
Gerard Bidstrup	...	Secretary
Sarah Boberg	...	Doctor
Anders Valentinus Dam	...	Policeman

Storyline

A Danish journalist is taken hostage in Afghanistan by a terror group that threatens to kill her if Denmark does not withdraw their troops from the country.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish English Dari

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Flygtningen

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danmarks Radio (DR), Det Danske Filminstitut, Nimbus Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Decent idea poisoned by Hollywood stupidity

There is a good premise here, that someone brought into a Taliban-like group may have misgivings when pressured to do objectionable things. Further, the interaction with the foreign hostage may trigger these doubts. This was one of the themes of "The Crying Game", among others.

But this movie makes so many foolish decisions and has its characters behaving so implausibly, it just smells like Hollywood in the mix.

We can see how ridiculous this movie has become when we compare the movie's journalist with actual journalists who were captured. There are clear ways that informants on the other side are protected, and that protection is part of the returnee's debriefing. The setup we are given here, of a journalist fearing that her lies would be disclosed, is so preposterous, it is clear that no real journalist was shown a script.