Gonzo reporting (definition): "Reporting where the journalists involve themselves so much in the story, they become the story. Normally shows an iconoclastic disregard for authority"
Yup. That's that in a nutshell...
I have to say I enjoyed it - it is immensely cynical at its core, covered with a veneer of good intentions, and is tense, very funny, well acted, and has also if extremely good at pointing out that the international community is failing to deliver worldwide. And if that gets your goat up then you're not going to be any happier once you've seen the movie.
The Hunting Party is goodly warped effort by all involved to explain the absolute lunacy that war brings out in people - both the horror and the humour. I would add that the horror in the film is not of the limbs blown off variety, but rather less blood, but unthinkable sadism is still shown without seeing the act itself, and the film concentrates on dealing more with the wretched aftermath of savageness.
The story is a simple one: a group of journalists unimpressed by their own careers, one (Terence Howard) too cushy,one (Richard Gere) washed up, and one (Jesse Eisenberg) just beginning, think they are covering the 5 year anniversary of Balkan peace and instead are convinced by Richard Gere to form a hunting party to track down and capture their own malcreant, and not just any but the big daddy of them all, and get the scoop of the century - Radoslav Bogdanović - The Fox.
They go for any number of reasons: for personal reasons, for the professional challenge, for the rewards, whatever, and off they go.
From the off the tone of the film is satirical, cynical, and laugh out loud funny - if you have any sense that the world doesn't work like you'd want it to then this is a great film to watch.
The film is populated with off the wall moments and characters but it remains watchable throughout. The three leads are nicely poised between manic madness and exhausted coolness, and it comes across as mature film-making throughout.
It is worth staying for the credits and seeing how this film supports the local Balkan film industry rather than simply shipping in the crew.
All over a really nice cynical take on the madness of war, its aftermath, and how gonzo journalism might having actually have a role to play in saving the world from blowing itself up the kazoo.
