Review of Proof of Life (2000) by Dawdlingpoet — 26 Nov 2021

I found this a decent thriller film. For whatever reason, I found it easier to follow than other similar ones recently. I did feel there were one or two cliches present (the all but helpless wife looking for someone to help rescue her husband etc.

) but I liked the characterisation and the plot intrigued me. There were some decent action scenes and the whole theme about the apparently international kidnap and ransom industry, as it were, interested me.

There are one or two scenes which I imagine especially squeamish people may not want to watch, involving injuries (I wont go into details), with an element of blood involved but it certainly wasn't continuously full of bloody violence - there was enough to remind the viewer what was at stake.

I thought this was a reasonably well made film of its time (released in 2000 I believe) and so I'd recommend it on that basis. Also the title refers to the negotiator trying to force the people demanding the ransom to provide said proof, to reassure those they ransom, that the hostage is still alive.

I believe this is a genuine term and obviously (and sadly) there is such a grubby industry still active as K&R, i.e. kidnap and ransom. Indeed companies with a presence in some unstable parts of the world have kidnap and ransom policies, so in any case it is somewhat based on truth and that made it more interesting too.