The Escape

I was so lucky to be invited to see a screener of this movie back in December last year. Prior to the showing I'd read half the book (the movie is based upon the novel "The Refugee" by Olav Hergel) and I was tremendously pleased with the plot and very excited and eager to see how they had managed to adapt it into a motion picture. I'm not an overly enthusiastic fan of Danish movies, but Kathrine Windfeld has indeed succeeded in creating a thought provoking and touching film, that unquestionably will take its place in history as one Danish film production's greatest moments. A stunning performance by Iben Hjejle (Rikke Lyngvig) is accompanied by excellent performances by the rest of the cast. You will find yourself at the edge of your chair, captivated by this thrilling story and leaving you enriched and thoughtful when you leave the cinema. The movie deals with controversial topics that have such significant relevance in today's society that I cannot stress enough that this is a must-see!

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.