Forces spéciales (2011)

A French journalist in Afghanistan is kidnapped by the Taliban.

Director:

Stéphane Rybojad

Writers:

Stéphane Rybojad (adaptation), Michael Cooper (adaptation),

Stars:

Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou, Benoît Magimel

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diane Kruger	...	Elsa
Djimon Hounsou	...	Kovax
Benoît Magimel	...	Tic-Tac
Denis Ménochet	...	Lucas
Raphaël Personnaz	...	Elias
Alain Figlarz	...	Victor
Alain Alivon	...	Marius
Mehdi Nebbou	...	Amen
Raz Degan	...	Ahmed Zaief
Tchéky Karyo	...	Amiral Guezennec
Morjana Alaoui	...	Maina
Didier Flamand	...	Jacques Beauregard
Jacques Gallo	...	Le Pacha
Bernard Allouf	...	Le President de La Republique
Marine Faure	...	La Premier Ministre

Storyline

In Afghanistan, French journalist Elsa and her colleague Amen are covering the story of Maina, a woman sold to a man when she was a child. Taliban leader Ahmed Zaief abducts Elsa and Amen and tries to force them to read a message to Western governments. The French president sends six Special Force to rescue Elsa who's hidden in a fortress in Pakistan. The team composed of Commander Kovax, Tic-Tac, Lucas, the sniper Elias, Victor and Marius release Elsa and Amen from their imprisonment but lose their radios. Now the group needs to cross the inhospitable land to save their lives with the Taliban chasing them.

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Plot Keywords:

french | taliban | afghanistan | journalist | kidnap | 

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Taglines:

Survival. Honor. Sacrifice.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

2 November 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

Special Forces

Filming Locations:

Caylus, Tarn-et-Garonne, France

Box Office

Budget:

€10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,759 (USA) (12 October 2012)

Gross:

$10,759 (USA) (12 October 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Easy Company, StudioCanal, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

While the opening scene is set in Kosovo, the cars have French license plates.

User Reviews

Good film but...

If Michael Bay was French and not as loaded this is exactly what he would make. A bit of military ops and a bit of politicomilitary pseudo-issues make this a standard film of the genre with Hounsou and Kruger giving it a bit of clout. With war-torn Afghanistan and tribal Pakistan as the main theatre but with the French military (home and overseas) in charge of the operation the film shows how a special forces team (seemingly the standard "good guys with families fight a war the politicians came up with") is going in for a hostage rescue. A lot of the clichés in this film do work and fans of the genre will get what they asked for though for a film made in 2011 the story is a bit tired and expects the viewer to make a connection with the team having the bare minimum of information about them. Still an OK film though I'd prefer it as a mini-series rather than a film.