The Hunting Party (2007)

A young journalist, a seasoned cameraman and a discredited war correspondent embark on an unauthorized mission to find the No.1 war criminal in Bosnia. However, their extremely dangerous target decides to come after them.

Director:

Richard Shepard

Writers:

Richard Shepard, Scott Anderson (article)

Stars:

Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Terrence Howard	...	Duck
Richard Gere	...	Simon Hunt
Gordana Vukres	...	Girl at Awards Ceremony
James Brolin	...	Franklin Harris
Sanela Seferagic	...	Sexy Assistant
Damir Saban	...	Gert
Aleksandra Grdic	...	TriBeCa Loft Girl
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Benjamin Strauss
John W. Falk	...	Journalist #1
Scott Anderson	...	Journalist #2
Harald Doornbos	...	Journalist #3
Philippe Deprez	...	Journalist #4
Erich Rathfelder	...	Journalist #5
Zan Marolt	...	Journalist #6
Ljubomir Kerekes	...	The Fox

Storyline

A young journalist, a seasoned cameraman and a discredited war correspondent embark on an unauthorized mission to find the no. 1 war criminal in Bosnia; they find themselves in serious jeopardy when they are mistaken as a CIA hit squad and their target decides to come after them.

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Plot Keywords:

hunt | bosnia | fox | cia | war criminal | 

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Taglines:

How can they find the world's most wanted war criminal when the C.I.A. can't? [by actually looking]

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina

Language:

English Serbo-Croatian Croatian

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spring Break in Bosnia

Filming Locations:

Croatia

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$39,609, 9 September 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$969,869, 1 November 2007

Company Credits

Production Co:

Intermedia, The Weinstein Company, Cherry Road Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the film, there is the following text "In theory, the official hunt for war criminals in Bosnia continues to this day ... However the two most wanted men - Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic - continue to evade the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the Hague and all in the civilized world who claim to be looking for them. In the ten years that Radovan Karadzic has been on the run, he has published two books and one play. Perhaps if the International Community opened a semester theatre... ... But they're probably too busy "searching" for Osama Bin laden."

Since the film was released, there have been major developments. Radovan Karadzic was arrested in 2008 in Belgrade and extradited to the Netherlands. Found guilty of 10 (out of 11) counts of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), he was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment in 2016. Ratko Mladic was arrested in Lazarevo (Serbia) in 2011 and extradited to the Netherlands. His trial started in 2012 and is still incomplete.

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Goofs

The UN mission ended in 20 December 1995 when NATO took over (IFOR/SFOR). In 2000 there should have been SFOR flags instead of the UN flags, SFOR patches, not UN and no blue berets. Military vehicles should have their national camouflage painting and SFOR markings. This is for NATO/SFOR details. The UN Mission (UNMIBH) was still active during the time this film depicts and the UNMIBH personnel and equipment are accurate - specifically the blue berets and UN vehicles for the UN International Police Task Force personnel in Foca.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: Only the most ridiculous parts of this story are true.

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Crazy Credits

After the main credits, a clip of Arif Alaibegovic singing "Na Ophodi Prema Bakijama" appears besides the next set of credits.

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Connections

References Star Trek (1966)

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Soundtracks

Village Song
Written and Performed by Brian Keane and Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Courtesy of Celestial Harmonies

User Reviews

Hollywood's political conscience continues to grow........

Just got back from the premiere at Venice, where a huge round of applause acknowledged the film's quality as well as Richard Gere's enduring star status.

As society and modern youth get serious again, so Hollywood follows the trend, as movies tackle war corruption and hypocrisy following Clooney, Gore et al's lead. Shephard manages to combine thriller with humour and quips without it becoming a cheesy Lethal Weapon type ride. That's due mainly to sterling performances from Gere, reinvigorates after The Hoax, and Howard, showing a comic side after the intensity of 'Crash' Jesse Eisenberg also looks like this role was written for him personally, and the remaining cast are appropriate. The crisp, realistic docu-direction, mainstreamed by Paul Greengrass, has exerted its influence and fits neatly into this film without looking forced.

Therefore, it works - it brings a serious issue to attention with humour, compassion and enough adrenaline to remind one of the risks some people take with their lives for their causes, when most of us take the cosy path of least resistance.