Hijacking - Todesangst ... In der Gewalt von Piraten

This hostage drama shows two different worlds: the despair of the crew on a vessel that has been hijacked by Somalian pirates, and the concern of the management of their shipping company in Copenhagen. The juxtaposition of these two worlds, connected by a dramatic event, is the strong cinematographic concept this film is built on.

The two worlds are very different. The crew on the ship is terrified by armed pirates they can't understand. They are locked up in a small room, where fear, heat, boredom and lack of food slowly drive them crazy. The managers in their design offices are dressed in tailored suits, wear cuff-links and drive limousines. Their fear is different, but far from negligible. The CEO chooses to personally negotiate with the pirates, and thus takes on the responsibility for the lives of his crew members. He is under great pressure from their families, from his board, and from the possibility that the press will report about the hijacking.

Director Lindholm focuses on two characters: the CEO of the shipping company and the cook on the vessel. The hijacking takes its toll on both of them, in different ways. The film switches from the clean offices in Copenhagen, where the CEO negotiates about the ransom, to the ship where the cook lives in continuous fear of being killed. The psychological approach of the film makes for great drama. Plus: this is a Danish film, so you can be sure the focus is on subtle human interaction, not on spectacular action scenes. The fact that the moment of the hijacking itself is not even shown, tells it all.

"A Hijacking" features excellent performances from two protagonists, delivered in an unflinching fashion that lays out the scenario, and simply allows the raw emotions to transpire on their own. The timing of the release on Blu-Ray coincides with the theatrical release of "Captain Phillips," which stars Tom Hanks and directed by Paul Greengrass. The films both tell the same story of cargo freighters hijacked by Somali pirates who seek millions in ransom. Aside from the similar subject matter however, the two films could not be any more different. "Captain Phillips" is an appealing action thriller concerned with presenting a satisfying, pulse-pounding conclusion for its audience. "A Hijacking" is a tense, grounded-in-reality based drama without the sense of comfort of a predetermined finale.

A Danish cargo ship named the "MV Rozen" is en route to Mumbai when Somali renegades gain control of the vessel and demand millions for the return of the ship's seven-man crew. Negotiations ensue between the corporate office and the pirates that follow the give-and-take of everyday business deals, with one important difference. In this case, the goods are human beings. Shot with hand-held cameras, the movie cross-cuts between two perspectives: the captured vessel's cook Mikkel Hartmann (Pilou Asbæk), and the maritime company's hands-on CEO Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling).

At the outset, the two characters share a common interest, but as the bartering drags on for months, the uncertainty of an outcome takes these two men in very different directions. Danish director/writer Tobias Lindholm perfectly balances the dual psyche of the captive Mikkel and corporate CEO Peter, two psychologically exhausted protagonists in remarkably different ways. A tense, slowly unwinding ticking-clock drama this may be, but the film is as much a character study, both the powerful and the subordinate, existing under extreme duress with life or death consequences attached to their decisions.

The film isn't a white knuckle ride and the pacing is slow at times, but this is one of the cases where that's exactly the point. Lindholm's account of a contemporary piracy situation doesn't offer the commercial appeal of "Captain Phillips," but it is nonetheless completely engaging and riveting material. There could have been several predictable avenues taken by Lindholm when telling this harrowing tale of survival and perseverance, but instead he charts into unexpected territory, and delivers real drama.

With the big budget film Captain Phillips arriving in the UK recently it reminded me that I had this much smaller film sitting unwatched in my queue. I don't know the details of Greengrass' film, but I presume the basic principle is the same as this film, which sees Somali pirates take over a Danish cargo ship and demand millions of US dollars for its release. The drama in this case unfolds in the boardroom of the company (focused on CEO Ludvigsen) and on the ship (focused on cook Mikkel).

The film puts an emphasis on realism in how it delivers the story to the viewer; conference calls between the CEO and the pirates are filmed as conference calls (complete with time lag and echo) and the expert in maritime security that the fictional company brings in is indeed not an actor but someone who does this for a living for a shipping company. It helps that this sense of realism is so deeply embedded in the techniques because it does make the film work very well in terms of tension. This isn't Under Siege where the cook takes on the hijackers, nor is it a film where the dramatic score does the heavy lifting – if anything the film sits back and lets the people just be in this situation. As a result it is a more toned back film in regard to the delivery but it works well to make everything feel tense and unpredictable – the calls are as gripping as the scenes of imminent personal danger on the ship.

The cast are a big part of this. At first I was concerned that I would not be able to get into the actors since so many were familiar faces to me from Forbrydelsen, Borgen, Game of Thrones and some other shows. As it was though I didn't struggle at all because everyone plays their characters so well that I forgot they were ever anyone else. Malling was the biggest jump for me as he is very different here than when I have seen him before, but he does it very well, letting the cracks show but never overdoing it for a specific scene. Asbaek has the toughest role as it is full of danger and emotion and he convinces throughout, sharing his frustration and fear with the viewer. Supporting roles are generally good with Salim, Moller and others doing good. I particularly liked Porter; occasionally he is a little clunky when working with the actors as a performance, but generally when he is in "the room" where he works in real life then he is a great presence and again really helps the sense of realism.

Kapringen maybe doesn't have the large budget or production aims of a bigger film, but the focus on realism in the making of the film pays off to produce a story that is tense and engaging throughout. Well worth a look.

A Danish cargo ship, MV Rozen, is hijacked by Somali pirates en route to Mumbai. The pirates, led by Omar (Abdihakin Asgar), who claims only to be the negotiator, take the crew of seven hostage and demand a ransom of $19 million in return for the ship and their lives. After an unnerving silence lasting days, Omar engages Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling), CEO of the shipping company, in a psychological game of negotiation that shreds the nerves of both Peter and the hostages.

Kapringen (A Hijacking) focuses on Peter, who shuns the offer of a trained negotiator, and three of his crew: Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk), the ship's cook; Jan (Roland Møller), an engineer; and the captain (Keith Pearson). With pressure from the board to resolve the situation, the burden of facing distraught family members and his own guilt at being unable to solve the crises with an instant payment, Peter struggles to gain the upper hand where his failure will mean the deaths of his men.

Tobias Lindholm, who co-wrote 2012's excellent Jagten (The Hunt) writes and directs this critically acclaimed film with a similar approach, refusing to spoon feed us with gimmickry or overstated episodes, instead preferring to leave us to join the dots, to imagine what is happening in the hours, days and weeks that Kapringen passes over. Lindholm understands that our fears are greatest when we cannot see or define them. As soon as the monster in a horror film is revealed, it ceases to be terrifying, and so it is in Kapringen. It's just that the monster isn't a vampire; it's isolation, the loss of basic human rights and the constant terror of impending execution.

As the weeks unfold, we make assumptions about the nature of the horror that occurs behind the locked cabin doors. For much of the time we don't know what is occurring as Lindholm exercises the same power as Omar. When he's revealed all he wants, he simply hangs up, cuts away, to leave us wondering. The only palpable evidence is Mikkel's increased shuffling and enhanced stoop as he cowers in the hijackers' presence and withdraws into himself.

Asbæk's performance is complete. We watch him decay in mind and body and can almost smell the sweat and fear on him. His resolve evaporates and he clings to any hope or kindness even though it comes from his tormentors.

Conversely, Asgar is cold as Omar, clearly the only character enjoying the experience. He's been here numerous times and has perfected the duel personas of good cop/bad cop offering kindness and threatening murder as if he, himself, is the victim. It is a chilling situation that feels too real to be entirely comfortable and does for sailing what Jaws did for swimming almost 40 years ago.

There is an oddness in the performance of Gary Skjoldmose-Porter as Conor Julian, the maritime hijack expert called in by the shipping company. With no other listings on IMDb but a job as Corporate Security Manager at Clipper Group, he appears to have been recruited to 'be' the adviser rather than cast to 'play' him. His (lack of?) acting prowess jars at times but the impression he gives of improvising his advice as the actors around him play their own parts in the crisis adds a certain depth and reality to Kapringen.

Malling (A Royal Affair and TV's The Killing and Borgen) gives a very restrained, but moving performance as a man who takes control through his arrogance but also needs to take responsibility so as not to feel impotent. Attacked from every side in subtle ways, he somehow manages to absorb the extreme stress and when he does shows signs of buckling, it is understanding and a relief to see that he is human.

Kapringen is a film with little action and barely a raised voice but the violence is unsettling and you'll find yourself wondering what on earth sane men and women are doing sailing around the world with such risks.

Kapringen is a film you'll struggle to find at the multiplexes so make the effort to seek it out at an arts cinema. Or wait for the DVD. Just see it.

For more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page.

A Hijacking is a richly layered examination of the corporate mindset via Somali pirates from Tobias Lindholm. Shot on a real once-hijacked boat off the coast of Somalia, this is realistic, understated, nuanced and gripping filmmaking. It says as much about humanities will to survive as it does big business's disregard for it. Johan Philip Asbeck is incredible as the cook on the boat struggling to deal with the desperate and dumb Somalis, no doubt driven to piracy by the disease and starvation in their country. The reviewer that said this is "amateurishly written" is a child or a moron. Also check out Lindholm's previous film R- the bleakest of all bleak prison films. It's hard to find but worth the hunt (The Hunt- another good movie Lindholm helped write). Both are highly recommended.