User Reviews

I saw this movie last night at the Mirimax pre screening in NY. When the movie started I was realized that it was shot in DV and was thus initially put off. Fortunately the director and editor did a great job crafting an intriguing introduction that immediately characterizes the kinetic pace of the movie.

This is a movie about kidnapping first and foremost, but it is also a strong commentary on the ongoing struggle between the have and the have nots.

The story kicks off quickly when a rich young couple is kidnapped without warning outside of a drug store. The kidnapping scene is done very well. If there is any excuse for using DV it is the type of hand held quick shots the director gets while the couple is being taken. I've never been kidnapped but I feel like this is what it would be like. No overly clever threats just quick and decisive action. Shut up, don't look at me, and a pistol whip to the mouth the second i think you're looking. The three kidnappers all have distinct personalities that are at times contradictory to each other and with the whole act of kidnapping. This adds to the realism in a huge way. One of the assailants is particularly protective of the girl which becomes a theme throughout the film.

As the movie rolls onward the use of DV becomes less noticeable and actually begins to seem appropriate because we do tend to think of video as being "real". The cinematographer should be commended on his excellent use of color. Almost every scene is alive with brilliant hues that contrast wildly. I am not sure if this was done in some way to evoke the thematic idea that the rich and the poor live so close yet are so different, or if it is simply eye candy to savor. Either way it accomplishes that goal.

This is a film full of sudden plot twists and because it is a continuous story told in a 1 to 1 step with reality it seems we are literally experiencing every moment of the ordeal with the characters. Violence erupts from nowhere and you get the feeling that this is a lawless place where the kidnappers really are in control. By the end of the movie I would certainly think twice before exploring south America without a desert eagle and suitcase of cash.

Overall this a gritty movie that paints a realistic portrait about kidnapping in south America. there is nothing glamorous or pretty about it and thats what works so well here particularly in concert with the grainy DV look. Maybe the only aspect of the movie I had a problem with wasn't even so much individual to the movie itself. It is more the idea that the kidnappings are justified simply because the wealthy are wealthy. This movie is so well designed as documentary on a kidnapping that it doesn't leave time for us to really see the living conditions of the kidnappers. Therefore it is very difficult for me to make the logic jump that If I was in their position I would probably become a kidnapper as well. There will always be the haves and the have nots, but I would venture to say that violence, greed, and sadism are independent of financial status. They are simply the consequence of being human and we have to live with that as best as possible.

"Secuestro Express" is a neat little twisty thriller in the exaggerated style of gritty British crime dramas like "Layer Cake," with a pointed political and social overlay.

Using swooping, in-your-face close-up cameras, limited narration and dossier-style on screen character and time descriptors, writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz, in his full-length fiction debut, captures a docudrama feel to make the kidnapping of a young, lighter-skinned couple by a motley group of "nigros" (darker-skinned) thugs, with a variety of psychological and financial motives for doing this "work", a commentary on class in Latin America, specifically in Caracas, Venezuela.

The individuality of all the characters, including the criminals, adds to the explosive unpredictability as stereotypes of Latin American culture are ironically skewered, including oligarchies, macho men, religion and sensuality, as each person uses political and class rhetoric to justify greed, selfishness and condescension on all sides.

Drugs are caustically shown to have pervasively corrupted and enthralled all levels of the society through a harrowing picaresque exploration of "the ghetto" (as the subtitles translated the geography).

The acting is excellent, particularly Mía Maestro, of TV's "Alias," who goes through an entire spectrum of emotions. Jean Paul Leroux as her boyfriend "Martin" is very good at shifting gears as our sympathies shift around him.

The song selection felt very atmospheric and the soundtrack kept the tension ratcheted up.

The "fire next time" coda didn't quite work or add much to what we think the characters learned that night except assuring us that life ominously goes on among all the classes despite the continuing sharp differences.

"Secuestro Express" began as a project for a short. Jonathan Jakubowickz had written a story and Sandra Condito and Elizabeth Avellán, among others, wanted to make it happen. For reasons that don't matter to me, the short became a full-length feature film, the hours became longer, the work became harder…

The result makes notorious that it was supposed to be a short, because it runs obligatorily too long. However, it's a total thrill and it keeps your eyes on the screen for its hour and a half. After Jakubowickz made his story longer, the characters took shape, and what could have been a tale of soulless kidnappers, is a glance at human beings who care for their city, even when they do what they do.

Jakubowickz' ferocious camera is a representation of the Venezuelan reality; it moves unsure, it accelerates constantly. With guts and courage, the director puts his imagination in motion, and shows to us the two sides of the city; the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the ones who eat and the ones who can't, the ones who live and the ones who are dying. The Latin American reality is not far from what Jakubowickz presents. In fact, there are thousands of kidnappings like the ones this movie illustrates, every day.

"Express"; quick, effective and only sometimes successful. The types of persons, who do this; act, dress and talk like the film's kidnapping threesome: Nigga Sibilino, Budú and their leader Trece. Interestingly, this is how these three men call themselves artistically. They are part of a hip-hop band called "3 Dueños". Jakubowickz got to them by listening to their music, and the characters he wrote for them fit perfectly with their personalities; he knows it and they know it.

One of the many highlights of this picture is that all the characters are very close to the actors' realities. The three kidnappers come originally from the suburbs, and they didn't have to make an effort for their portrayals; they had it in them. A permanent improvisation is clearly noticeable and it reassures the "reality" of the film. When the three of them grab Martín (Jean Paul Leroux) and Carla (Mía Maestro) and scream: "Don't look at my face", they say it because it works like that.

They are not joking with the guns they carry with them, they are not joking when they call Carla's father (the genius Ruben Blades), and they are not joking with the drugs they purchase from Marcelo (Ermahn Ospina), a Colombian and homosexual dealer. The scenes that the movie develops are determined by a voice that announces the time ("5 a.m., in Caracas"). The best moments are the ones you feel connected to, because you identify with them. When they are stopped by the police, for example; and a simple exchange fixes the situation.

When Trece talks to Carla about the city and about what's going on. "What's the secret?", she inquires. Trece explains, and you easily realize that Carlos Molina put the most commitment into his character. He achieves something there, there's an emotion felt that Pedro Pérez and Carlos Madera lack. If what the film's doing is leaving a message, I respect it. But that message won't make anyone change, because it takes a lot more in a world like this one.

What I can say for sure are two things: "Secuestro Express" is a calling to Venezuelan cinema, these days when it's so difficult to make a complete movie; and it is so real and so true, that you will be scared to be out on the street after watching it.

Years ago, Warner Brothers re-released its two landmark gangster films of the thirties, "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy" with a brief prologue that said the gangster was a problem "we the public must eventually solve." Writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz's "Secuestro Express" ends with a epilogue that notes that "half the people of the world suffer from malnutrition, the other half from obesity." It's a stunning message, but it almost gets lost because the film it caps is a stunning thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat and for the most part, keeps you from focusing much on the social issues involved.

Set in Caracas,Venezuela, the film examines what has become almost a regional pastime in Latin America, kidnapping. In this case, its quick, down and dirty snatches of middle class people whose families can pony up relatively modest amounts of money in exchange for getting their loved ones back in one piece. It's literally "Express kidnapping." This particular abduction is of a trendy young upper middle class couple snatched as they snort coke and toke marijuana in their SUV outside a trendy nightclub. That all plays a role in the story, for the nominal leader of the trio of thugs castigates the victims for rubbing their wealth in people's faces by wearing expensive clothes and driving pricey cars. But the kidnappers are not revolutionaries, just minor hoodlums who, in a bid to collect just 40-thousand dollars in ransom, terrorize two perfectly normal people.

Carlos Julio Molina, Pedro Perez and Carlos Madera are outstanding as the hoodlums, as different from standard Hollywood criminals as night is from day. Jean Paul Leroux is also good as the male half of the trendy couple, a man with secrets of his own.

But the star of this film is the female kidnap victim, played by the beautiful and unreasonably talented Mia Maestro. She danced her way through "Tango," she has sung her way through numerous stage musicals and this time, she gets to act her way though 24 hours of hell. She handles the role magnificently, her emotions skipping from rage to flirtatious manipulation, to utter horror when she believes she is about to be raped and murdered.

For those who have seen her on "Alias," playing Jennifer Garner's sister in spying, Maestro more than lives up to the promise she showed there.

This movie is a jolting, sometimes shocking picture that often makes you uncomfortable, but never bores you. See this thriller, but don't ignore its message.

Let this film serve as a public service announcement, at the very least. When driving anywhere in any major Latin American city, don't drive a big, shiny, expensive SUVs because you're only begging to make yourself a target. Secuestro Express is less than 24 hours in the life of a rich, young couple and the car-jackers who take them hostage. It's quick-passed, violent, bloody, and even funny at times. It feels real and tangible.

While in the custody of their kidnappers, the young couple is taken to a flamingly gay cocaine dealer who ends up having sex with the male hostage. The beautiful woman hostage is taken to an abandoned and rundown apartment where she is almost raped and is tripping on the ecstasy pills she was forced to take.

In other words, Secuestro Express is not appropriate for small children, but it is a hell of a ride along the lines of Traffic and Pulp Fiction. But it takes place in the seemingly lawless town of Caracas, Venezuela, and that makes it even scarier.

I think it was a very good money, and feeds the paranoia every citizen of Caracas lives with. this movie hit me very close to home, and I could relate to the story very well... sadly.

The technical aspect was OK. I'm not really to nit picky about such things, as long as it doesn't bothers me while watching the movie. The acting was good enough, even great at some points.

Now, the movie can be a little bit biased, which is not necessarily bad. It shows a problem: kidnapping, crimes etc; and social resentment as the fuel of such things... from the victim point of view, being the victim wealthy people, and the criminals, poor people. So I guess people could identify with both sides: either by being disgusted by the elitists Martín; or enraged by how a good nature girl as Carla is passing through such an horrible experience.

At the end, it's nobody's fault.

The video quality in Secuestro Express is truly disappointing from the very beginning. The movie starts with blurry images of shanty towns in Caracas, I thought the blur was an intentional effect, and maybe perfect in-focus images were soon going to kick in, showing in sharp details the "ranchos and cerros", but nope... detail never arrived, the video quality was actually as bad as what I was thinking could be a blur special effect. Gave it the benefit of the doubt thinking it could be the theater's fault, but once again nope: letters in Twisted-Metal-Black evoking style started popping up on screen naming each character in the movie, and those letters were decently sharp and in focus. So it wasn't the theater but the film, no doubt. Thumbs down to extremely poor video quality.

Good points: acting of some of the bad guys, some of them were believably bad guys in some occasions, not in all occasions though. Overall cursing and foul language was also very realistic and spot-on. The girls acting was also good in some occasions, but not in all as well though. A nice aesthetic touch right before the nightmare, the song by Soledad Bravo in the drugstore was particularly beautiful.

Bad points: rich vs. poor philosophizing in the movie was extremely lame. Also, making the rich girl of a wealthy young couple in Caracas a generous and selfless/sacrificed voluntary nurse is pushing her character "just a bit", to say the least. To my surprise, acting of Ruben Blades was rather lame. Acting of the boyfriend I think was also extremely lame. Some of the unexpected twists in the movie seemed a little forced and extreme. That's completely subjective of course, just my impression. At the end, pervert cops nightmare possibility saved by a pseudo heroic act of one of the bad guys was also rather forced and imho lame, very unnecessary.

Normally in a box like this you would say how much you enjoyed or hated a movie, in this case I think the word 'enjoy' is too pervy. I think that the film maker presents a gritty drama about a crime phenomenon in South America without judging anyone, who is the bad guy, obviously the flaky boy friend. I always watch these movies in hope that the world they show does not exist and the film is over egging the pudding, but sadly things you read elsewhere show how true it is and like many other movies from South America, they show the disparity in wealth between the haves and have nots'. In the past, we could be smug about our societies not being like that, but I am not so sure anymore. I thought that the acting was believable especially from the victims, I am not sure about the hoodlum with principles considering the cruelty of everything else the 'bad guys' did.

Excellent Movie! The cast of this movie did an incredible job! It is sad, but real, people in Latin America are going to situations just as described in the movie.

Mia Maestro, really showed to all of us her talent, for those Spanish speakers know how different the Argentinian accent is, and she was able to imitate the Venezuelan accent perfectly.

I am sure does who are related to Venezuela when they go and see this movie will have an after taste in their mouths for several days. It is cruel but very real.

I hope that more movies like this are done

I recommend this movie to everybody.

Daniel

There's a maddening, maddening scene in Secuestro Express in which a victim of a kidnapping ordeal is ordered to remove a substantially large amount of money from his bank account using his card, as the wrong-doers hold his female partner captive in a nearby jeep. Upon attaining the money, he's jumped by a third party thief; an individual whom hangs around the ATM machines, at whatever God-forsaken hour in the morning whilst no one is around, and jumps those removing hard cash from the machine. One of the kidnappers sees this and intervenes. It'll sound perverse, but it's an amusing situation; one of a number of gut wrenching and rather harrowing predicaments a number of characters find themselves in within Venezuelan born Jonathan Jakubowicz's film; a man painting a grim, glum and quite frightening picture of his home nation, indeed, his home city: the sort of place where the criminals try one over the criminals by targeting the weak in-between.

That city is Caracas, the capital of the aforementioned Venezuela, as a number of short and sharp voice-overs consistently remind us. The set up is brief; the plunging us into a predicament is close to immediate, while the results are eerily effective. Express Kidnapping, to give it its English title, sees a young couple in Carla (Maestro) and Martin (Leroux) swiped off of the street by a gang of equally young, but significantly less-better off hoods armed with guns; a 4x4; a taste for ransom money and, eventually, an equally alarming taste for the lone female in the vehicle. The immediate beginning actually revolves around the kidnappers, with each of their names popping up on screen and a fast and frenetic aesthetic by way of edits and camera work sort-of complimenting the short, sharp and rough voice-overs that provide whatever back-story they're given. If we're honest, we might assume the film to be about them at this point.

Jakubowicz demonstrates that he has an eye for particular styles that he knows complement particular passages of where we are in a film. His early style of hyper-kinetic and frothing mad camera complete with editing shoots all over the place before any audience member, indeed victim within the film, has any time to garner any sort of bearings. The early passage of events in the car shortly after the taking are brutal in their effectiveness. This is primarily, I think, because we, like the victims, are plunged into this predicament and share whatever confusion they do as we both come to terms with what's happened. The opening had gone to some length to introduce the kidnappers, only for the film to plunge us into the chaotic and 'flung-around' situation of the victims, thus we perceive things from their perspective and is an unexpected viewing position. The whole passage taps into a very primal fear linked to being in peril; held at ransom by an unknown force more powerful and larger in numbers than you as well as that sensation that automatically assuming whatever dreadful fate can happen, probably will.

But the film levels out. Then again, perhaps it's the style that levels out. The automatic assumption that a highly stylised, and thus 'accessible', film that falls into some sort of crime genre embraces the acts on screen and renders them 'sexy' or 'fun' or 'good to look at' is easy. But this film isn't here to exploit, and its calming down following the initial incident is welcome as people begin to talk to one another and procedures are supposedly carried out. That isn't to say the danger evaporates, because it doesn't, but the kidnapped leads come to realise their situation and a similar progression is occurring with the audience as our own opinions and realisations on the situation are unfolding at exactly the same time.

If we think of films that are either wildly kinetic in their delivery and overall feel or just carry that lush, good-looking sensibility from recent years, of which they might also be categorised as 'crime' films, Pierre Morel's 2008 film Taken might spring to mind. As also might one of Soderburgh's 'Ocean's' sequels – there may even be some that point to the first of that series. One of the very few films of this ilk from recent years that I thought pulled off this 'all over the place'; 'revenge and violence carries a certain "to be looked at-ness" appeal' without ever feeling exploitative was Tarantino's first Kill Bill volume; a film that utilised its female lead's chaotic and tragic circumstances to project real sense of anger as the film unfolded to whatever style and atmosphere Tarantino implemented on his text.

I think Express Kidnapping balances whatever political or social issues the director has with what he's studying with that trashy, pulpy, throw-away approach you feel he wants to additionally get across. Carla's journey isn't necessarily about her developing as a female character and becoming more and more hard bodied, but then again it doesn't minimise her nor relegate her to any position of the 'weakling'. Rather, it is her partner that looses his head and she herself comes to identify the sexually charged predicament, using that to her advantage. More immediately, the film is concerned with the state of the the nation and these goings on. The film's ending is deceptively upbeat, but Jakubowicz is telling us the only real way anything is ever going to get done is if the scum continue to stalk the other scum and wipe them out for us, 'us' being the more innocent Venezuelans as well as the government themselves.

Express Kidnapping doesn't exploit its subject matter for purposes of entertainment, while its shifts from a relaxed sense to a thoroughly frightening scenario throughout never feels mis-guided nor mis-judged. If more South American films can balance the 'accessibility' this film carries with a raw and social driven subject matter, I see nothing but good things for cinema from said part of the world.

First of all I'll give secuestro express a five out of ten. Not so good and not so bad. Maybe the photography and shooting could have been better.

Second and finally, and for those who called this movie "unrealistic", definitely they do not live in Latin American Cities (Caracas in this particular case). Of course not all is dangerous streets and corners but kidnappings are the meals of every day. Police and Military Officers are 75% corrupts (I'd say) and in most of cases they'r the performers of the biggest crimes along the country. (Just to give u an idea, recently some cops kidnapped 3 young little children's of a business man and killed them because the situation got too much complicated.

Unrealistic???? Live here and then you can tell what you want.

Caracas is a beautiful neglected city in which you can take a ride but with your eyes wide open.

This film, along with "Man on Fire" proves that kidnapping surely makes for good drama. "Secuestro Express" shows the underbelly of a society that is decaying as we speak, a place torn apart by economics and class differences, and a place that is unforgiving and cruel to most of its population.

The 24-hour drama follows a kidnapped couple and their victimizers as their drama unfolds. "Secuestro Express" is rawer than its American predecessor, with its crude language, relentless references to social abuse and sexual references. There are times when I couldn't help feeling sick in my stomach because here was a film where anything could happen. The dialog is frank, the portrayals are very realistic, and the tone of the film is very dark. There are almost no moments when one can feel any respite from the tragedies happening on the screen.

Maestro does a wonderful job as the victim who fully understands what is happening to her and her fiancé and might at times relate to her captors' experience. The last 15 minutes of the film are likely to provoke some heated discussion, as the film reaches its climax. Special mention should go to the actor portraying Budu, a new villain to match in the annals of cinema.

Overall the film delivers and barely misses reaching perfect score because of its production values. Nevertheless its very assured direction, impressive camera-work, and excellent acting prove that bloated budgets and talentless actors might be an endangered species.

"Secuestro Express" translates roughly as "quick turn-around kidnapping" and, according to the makers of this film, is becoming an increasingly common crime in Latin American. The film is a gritty, grainy, low budget flick about three thugs who kidnap a beautiful woman with and her boyfriend to get some fast cash via the secuestro express methodology. Although the film is full of meaningless thug talk and inconsequential filler, when it does finally get down to business - about an hour into the run - it grabs and holds on thanks to a powerful performance by Maestro who busts some serious acting chops demonstrating she's much more than just another pretty face. As a cap, this little flick drives home an important social message which may be food for thought for those who care to think beyond the film. Okay but nothing to get excited about and fraught with the usual subtitles, obvious budget constraints, etc., Secuestro Express makes for a worthy watch for those who like their crime flicks straight up with a twist and a message from south of the border. (B)

There is a potential movie to watch inside SECUESTRO EXPRESS, a truly frantic ride where the action takes center stage. I wasn't so keen on watching it in theaters but to wait for a DVD copy.

I'm fed up with the ads of the next, newly released "best Venezuelan movie ever" tag printed on local newspapers. Franlky, I've never been a follower of Venezuela's cinema. I find them grotesque and with heavy lack of pace. One exception: Alberto Arvelos' UNA VIDA Y DOS MANDADOS, which was fairly nice and... slow (at times). Coming from a action-driven, cop dramas & sci/fi kind of moviegoer, this is a bit of a stretch.

Genre-less as it may be, Venezuelan movies have found since the 70s a solid spot on the protest side. They serve as a mirror/agenda of our corrupted society, dealing with the lower ways of average, almost random citizens trapped in the bitterness of the establishment. Hence, slices of life on celluloid, as the well-known filmmaker Roman Chalbaud (EL PEZ QUE FUMA) expressed some time ago.

SECUESTRO EXPRESS is quite different from the Chalbaud-Cabrujas-De La Cerda days. This is a movie that actually feels a bit more like a standard one. It is slickly made (ala Tarantino cool at times). You'll feel the stress in your surroundings, guts are bound to be wrenched. Laughter is served in most unusual places. A mess out of the situation leaves you wondering whether to be in nervous cheerfulness or turned-off mode. Definitely not for everyone. It jumps and cuts and crashes heavily, and then some. But, at the end, it's nothing. Confussing? Welcolme to "secuestro express" arena, latinoamerican style.

I haven't experienced a most gruesome condition of man towards a fellow being in the form of a film journey since IRREVERSIBLE. Shocking as it is unpredictable, here is where I point out that the movie really worked. An unforeseen presence of leading characters and no recognizable actors whatsoever (a common default on previous productions that is used here as a bonus). Ruben Blades and Miguelangel Landa (cameo) were merely part of the plot outside the scenario. It is the story that takes you everywhere from almost nowhere. Anything could happen. The viewer doesn't have a clue. Uplifting in the process? A happy ending? This is a Venezuelan movie, no expectations attached.

Stopping myself from sounding as part of the positive hype (goverment officials down here are despising the film for showing a negative and allegedly untrue image of the country), I do express disagreement with certain plot points of the movie. The "friendly" Colombian drug dealer twist was too "only in the movies" for the topic in hand. The bad taxi cabbie in the "it's a small Caracas we live in" was insulting, not to say implausible.

Although it dragged the subject of the poor against the rich, criminal against the wealthy, this could have been a much better film without that red hot politically-charged layer. It kills the genre with, yet again, a social commentary beneath. I know kidnaps, drugs, thefts and other acts of violence inflicted on the human body and mind happen here, there and everywhere. It just happens that April 11th, 2002 happened only here in Venezuela.

Is it a movie movie or a movie poster that reflex ourselves as a society? If so, where are the hardworking majority that take a "carrito" or the bus to go to work everyday? No honest or at least clean people in Venezuela? Mixtures like this get lost in the translation.

Whatever the case, this is just a personal comment. I don't regret watching SECUESTRO EXPRESS. It's wild, just don't buy it as a postcard. Miramax backing it is a bonus, hands down. But the Weinsteins disowning that movie company makes one wonder: Who knows what FAHRENHEIT 9/11 leftover they were leaving at Disney? Point is these players can never be trusted.

"Secuestro Express" is an independent film about a common frequent reality in Latin America: Kidnappings. I was first very reluctant about watching this film, but it just came on DVD rental, so I got a copy, watched it and now I know that certainly this film is a very genuine depiction of a situation that is not known to most people in North America. Quite raw, and also entertaining, this film will keep the viewer in suspense and expectation for many surprises.

Remember that this is a foreign film, not your regular "censored a... flick". That is the reason it was not shown in most theaters in the U.S. but it is now at your local DVD rental shop.

Well, please let me know what ya'll think!

http://www.miramax.com/secuestroexpress

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371939

All Block Busters has it.

here's my 2 cents:

• The acting is impressively good across the board, except maybe for Ruben Blades who is completely wasted in this role and whose inability to master the correct Venezuelan accent on his 3 short lines is unbelievable. I would not be so annoyed by this if I didn't expect more from such a fine actor.

• All three kidnappers are creepily believable although I did sense maybe a latino slash rapper slash thug feel which I just do not recognize in the local malandros I've seen.

• I thought the script was very good, some very memorable lines all throughout. I felt a little insulted by the "captions" shown explaining each character. I think it is better to let the audience reach its own conclusions on each character and not tell them what to think.

• There is an overall cheesiness to the movie which reaches intolerable heights at the end of the movie with a voice over. I just read a review somewhere and there was a phrase which captures this feeling - "kindergarten social commentary". Again, do not tell me how to feel.

• Overall though I found the movie to be shockingly good and an outstanding effort of local talent.

The film representation of the characteristics of poverty in Latin America, and of the phenomena it originates, has developed through the years, from the populist portraits of the 1930s and 1940s, in which being poor almost equaled sainthood (as in "Nosotros, los pobres"), to the movies of today called "porno-misery" by some critics. In the early 1950s Luis Buñuel's "Los olvidados" turned the tables, with its depiction of a disturbing high level of cruelty among the child and teenager delinquents of México City, and it paved the way for movies based on serious research. In this vein, the documentary "Tire dié" made by Fernando Birri and his students was a filmed survey of marginalization and misery in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Movies with a new approach were made, as "Romance del Anicento y la Francisca" in Argentina, "El chacal de Nahueltoro" in Chile, "Gamín" in Colombia, "Pixote" in Brazil, among others, as well as later works with aspirations for stronger sociological value, as "Sicario" from Venezuela or "La vendedora de rosas" in Colombia. These films painted a more precise picture of the social situation in Latin America, and of the underprivileged, without accusations or sermons. The release of "Cidade de Deus" marked the start of a curious phenomenon: although the film was based on a book that sustains the violent description of the story being told, most audiences and critics were dazzled by its technical virtuosity to describe violence, putting aside its social value. Since then we are having, from all fronts, movies that, using the consumerism ethics, and the aesthetics and rigor of a publicity spot, trivialize social inequity and misery, and glamorize crime. "Secuestro express" falls into this category. It is a Hollywood version of a frequent phenomenon - kidnapping. As almost all of the good or bad films dealing with poverty, there is no intention to point reasons: in these movies, you seldom hear of bad distribution of national wealth, hoarders, landowners or creole oligarchies that have sold their countries to transnationals. This is not the reason why I blame these movies, which have the right to make their own statement, but the accommodation of their own local situations to worn out formulas of traditional narratives, giving solutions to their dramas that, in the execution, resemble more foreign action movies, than Latin America realities. They even describe the characters as stereotypes of 1940s melodramas: these seldom react as they would in real life, but in a way that allows the creators to make "beautiful shots". For example, when the kidnapped woman (Mia Maestro) is released momentarily in a lonely place, far away from Caracas, instead of running for her life, she falls and cries in the dust, a strategy that permits the director and cinematographer to make a few nice shots of Maestro, and a chance to add a second ending to the story. The script follows a predictable direction (another example: of all the taxis in Caracas, the woman's runaway boyfriend boards the cab chauffeured by one of the kidnappers' accomplices), that unfortunately turns the movie into a catalog of common places. In the end, the authors divide the world in a 50% of hungry persons and 50% of well-bred folks. A little research would have revealed to them that, in the real world, the percentage of hungry people surpasses by a great margin the filmmakers' lack of information.

You can tell the film director wishes he was Quantin Terantino, except he has too shoot on bad home video cameras. The mane actress was very good, but except for that the film is really bad. But there are some okay things like to see the reality that whips Latin America with regard to the kidnappings thing, the police corruption at continental level, among so many realities that we live the Latins. I hope that they are happened to those producing of Hollywood to make a better movie completely in Venezuela, where they show our reality better with regard to the delinquency, the traffic of drugs or the political problems. They have been few the movies that they play Venezuelan land (for example: Aracnophobia, Jungle 2 Jungle, Dragonfly) they should make more, as well as they make in Mexico. If you want to see it you must wait for the video.

Secuestro Express is a great movie, no doubt about it, but why does Hollywood has to be so DUMB??... When you see the trailers you expect no more than a action movie...but for those who live in Venezuela ( as myself) there's nothing of action o fiction in this movie, what you see there is the sad but true life that we live here in Caracas, every day when you're walking down the street, when you're driving you're car, when you're at home, you're always thinking, am i going to be next? why is the police stealing people? why are those gangsters ( malandros) looking at me that way? YES here in VEnezuela having something is a crime, it doesn't matter if you worked for it, if you have something that others don't you're a possible victim of crime. TO not make it so much of a complain about Venezuela but about the way the film was turned, I would like to say, this movie may be "fiction"cause its was taken in an controlled environment, but what you see in that movie happens everyday, its not something COOL, or JUST "bang bang" its a reality for all those who live here, it would be great if people saw that and not just ohhh cool another action movie...