Review of Secuestro Express (2004) by Melanie F — 07 Sep 2008

Secuestro Express, which was directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz, was a nitty-gritty reality of the situation arising throughout Latin American. It deals with a wealthy, young couple in Caracas, Venezuela who are kidnapped by a group of thugs looking for ransom. The movie was well done. In the beginning of the movie, we see the main characters in their elements. The scene pauses, and their name and a few details about them are flashed on the screen. I think this was a good way to introduce us to the characters and give us a deeper sense of who each of them is.

The movie shows a scary situation that is happening practically every day in Latin America. We feel a mix of emotion for each of the characters, and no one is viewed as angelic, even if they are the victims or the thugs. The scenes were shot in Venezuela, which added to the horror of the situation. You are taken around this beautiful city where hidden underneath, all these atrocities are occurring. The thugs, but one, felt no remorse. They felt they were Robin Hood â?? stealing from the rich to give to the poor. They would rape, kill, and torture victims with no resmose. The police are no help because they are more corrupted than the thugs are. They have the law on their side, so nothing can happen to them.

The dialogue was well written. I liked how the writers included the reason for the corruption and violence within the dialogue of the characters.

The only unbelievable part of the movie was the way the female character would hit and curse at the thugs. Come on, you have a gun pointed at your face, and you are this sheltered, wealthy girl, and you have the guts to disrespect these people? No one really beat her. They respected no one, so why start now?

Overall, the movie was an eye opener. We think our lives are miserable, but other people in other countries are suffering. There are two sides to every story and each is suffering in their own way.