Secuestro express (2005)

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.

Director:

Jonathan Jakubowicz

Writer:

Jonathan Jakubowicz

Stars:

Mía Maestro, Jean Paul Leroux, Rubén Blades

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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

Storyline

In a night pregnant with a strange mix of tension and dizzy abandon, lovers Carla and Martin prowl clubs before drunkenly wandering back to his car. While he comes across as crass nouveau riche, she appears more liberal. Their conspicuous affluence, however, makes them ideal targets for kidnappers, and the trio of Trece, Budu and Niga gets a bead on them and promptly sweeps them up at gunpoint. The kidnappers then demand $20,000 to be delivered in two hours. Carla phones her rich father Sergio to procure the money, but chaos soon ensues. A botched ATM robbery is followed by a stopover at the palatial estate of a gay drug dealer.

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Plot Keywords:

ransom | money | gay | drugs | corruption | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The director Jonathan Jakubowicz has been kidnapped, and his cinematic style in this movie is a translation of the way he perceived reality while held hostage 45 minutes with a gun under his nose.

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Quotes

Carla: Listen. I work in a clinic without resources for the poor everyday... doing what I can to help poor children. And you treat me this way.
Trece: Fuck, who told you to drive around in a brand new car? You think I can guess who you are?
Carla: Why is having money a sin? My father's worked hard all his life.
Trece: That's not the point. I have money too.
Carla: What is it, then?
Trece: Don't look at me like that, OK? Don't look at me like that, or I'll lose it. Point is...
Carla: Yes?
Trece: When half city is knee-deep in shit, and you're rolling in a ...
[...]

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Connections

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

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Soundtracks

War Dogs
Written by Ben Watkins and Nick Burton
Performed by Juno Reactor

User Reviews

Disturbing

I think it was a very good money, and feeds the paranoia every citizen of Caracas lives with. this movie hit me very close to home, and I could relate to the story very well... sadly.

The technical aspect was OK. I'm not really to nit picky about such things, as long as it doesn't bothers me while watching the movie. The acting was good enough, even great at some points.

Now, the movie can be a little bit biased, which is not necessarily bad. It shows a problem: kidnapping, crimes etc; and social resentment as the fuel of such things... from the victim point of view, being the victim wealthy people, and the criminals, poor people. So I guess people could identify with both sides: either by being disgusted by the elitists Martín; or enraged by how a good nature girl as Carla is passing through such an horrible experience.

At the end, it's nobody's fault.

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States]

Country:

Venezuela

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

10 March 2006 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Apagogi express

Filming Locations:

Caracas, Venezuela

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,928, 7 August 2005

Gross USA:

$307,208

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,898,606

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tres Malandros

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1