Review of A Hijacking (2012) by Roman R — 22 Jun 2013

This Danish film is about as palpable as contemporary thrillers come. Rather then suffer the trappings that Hollywood-produced hostage films deal with, A Hijacking has virtually no onscreen violence, and makes sparse use of music.

Director Tobias Lindholm cadences the film with enough realism and restrained camera work to make the film seem as real as possible, which is where this thriller achieves it's tension: Throughout the film there's a gnawing feeling that something horrible is going to happen.

It's not so much a dense film as it is one that's closely observed, but A Hijacking is the ideal anti-thesis towards American action cinema.