IMDb RATING
7.5/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
January 13, 2001. Times war photographer Harvey Jacobs is wounded while witnessing a massacre at Nuevo Colon by terrorists. In a desperate effort, the United Nations sends a vehicle to get h... Read allJanuary 13, 2001. Times war photographer Harvey Jacobs is wounded while witnessing a massacre at Nuevo Colon by terrorists. In a desperate effort, the United Nations sends a vehicle to get him out, a BMW driven by the mysterious Driver.January 13, 2001. Times war photographer Harvey Jacobs is wounded while witnessing a massacre at Nuevo Colon by terrorists. In a desperate effort, the United Nations sends a vehicle to get him out, a BMW driven by the mysterious Driver.
Marco Pérez
- Contra 1
- (as Marco Antonio Pérez)
Featured reviews
I was very surprised after watching the other films from the BMWs films "The Hire", because although all were clever and entertaining, none had the emotional power of this one. Guy Richie's was great but in a humorous way, and more as an homage to BMW's cars.... Powder Keg was about as deep and attaching and emotional and real as you can get in a 7 min film.
Shot in a documentary style way in 16mm, it's a great look at the genius of an upcoming director. 8-1/2 /10
Shot in a documentary style way in 16mm, it's a great look at the genius of an upcoming director. 8-1/2 /10
Eliminate the country, the brutal government, most real names, and what you have is a look into the inner sole of what it is to be human. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu does a masterful job with this piece based on a massacre of people and shooting of a war photographer. These BMW Films have all been exceptional. This is true art... when your friends complain about Hollywood, tell them they are not looking hard enough.
What makes this commercial really stick out from the others is the filming style, which seemed documentary-like. While I found this style a little annoying at first, I ended up actually enjoying it and liking the commercial for being different without being bad(like the one Ang Lee misdirected). The cinematography is very good, and gives us some great intense sequences. The acting is great, both by Clive Owen and Stellan Skarsgård. Owen must have gotten very much used to his character of The Driver by this point, so it's interesting to see him in a more emotional take on the character. Skarsgård is very good as the war photographer, and his final speech, though going very close to crossing over into being cliché, manages to work perfectly and arouse actual emotions in the viewer, rather than just being sappy, manipulative drivel(which this sort of thing almost always is). The action(the little there is) is great and the amount is just right. It's obvious that this was more about story and characters than action and thrills, and director Alejandro González Iñárritu pulls it off perfectly. It's rare to see something so short that manages to hold your interest without a lot of action and whilst managing to tell a story so beautifully and emotionally. While I prefer Ambush over this one, I think it's a great commercial. I recommend this to fans of the commercials and of this type of stories. 8/10
Powder Keg has been promoted heavily on cable. The trailer for the very short film is excellent. The irony of the format of the very short film is that the trailer runs for about 1/10 the time of the whole film!
More is left out of the film than is in it. We are shown the short tale of a photojournalist who escapes from a horrific massacre; we aren't shown how he does it. We don't know what war this is, it is a stand-in for all of those nameless skirmishes in Latin America.
Clive Owen of the PBS Mystery series Second Sight stars as the 'Driver'. We don't know anything about him as well.
It's really difficult to make an effective short film, but director Alejandro Inarritu does a very good job. Yes, we've seen the plot before (though not so truncated), but the cinematography is grainy, jerky, and alive. You get a sense of the menace and desperation of the people of this unnamed place in fast glances out the window of the, yes, BMW.
Recommended.
More is left out of the film than is in it. We are shown the short tale of a photojournalist who escapes from a horrific massacre; we aren't shown how he does it. We don't know what war this is, it is a stand-in for all of those nameless skirmishes in Latin America.
Clive Owen of the PBS Mystery series Second Sight stars as the 'Driver'. We don't know anything about him as well.
It's really difficult to make an effective short film, but director Alejandro Inarritu does a very good job. Yes, we've seen the plot before (though not so truncated), but the cinematography is grainy, jerky, and alive. You get a sense of the menace and desperation of the people of this unnamed place in fast glances out the window of the, yes, BMW.
Recommended.
This short film occurs in January 13, 2001, where a Times war photographer -Harvey Jacobs (Stellan Skarsgård)- is wounded while witnessing a massacre at Nuevo Colon by terrorists. In a desperate effort, the United Nations sends a vehicle to get him out, a BMW driven by Clive Owen.
This film, in comparison to any other film of the Hire series is possibly the best. The mark of Alejandro González Iñárritu is without contest the deepest one I've seen to date. It can't be denied that every second of the films matters in one way or another, either it is the feel of the environment, characters or even the state of mind. But since I'm a fan of his work I think I might be a little biased.
The real hero of the film is actually the photographer's mother (Lois Smith) who really made a spectacular performance. I've seen the film about five times and I am still touched by her performance. Great Film 9/10
This film, in comparison to any other film of the Hire series is possibly the best. The mark of Alejandro González Iñárritu is without contest the deepest one I've seen to date. It can't be denied that every second of the films matters in one way or another, either it is the feel of the environment, characters or even the state of mind. But since I'm a fan of his work I think I might be a little biased.
The real hero of the film is actually the photographer's mother (Lois Smith) who really made a spectacular performance. I've seen the film about five times and I am still touched by her performance. Great Film 9/10
Did you know
- TriviaThough action takes place in Nuevo Colon (Colombia), film was inspired by real Aguas Blancas massacre (Mexico).
- Alternate versionsOn the 2002 official BMW FILMS DVD release of THE HIRE, a slightly longer edit of the movie can be found. There is an additional scene with Stellan Skarsgaard and some rebels assisting him. There are additional additions and extensions throughout the movie on the DVD.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Star (2001)
- SoundtracksUna palabra
Written by Carlos Varela
Courtesy of Universal Music Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
Published by SGAE
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Hire: Powder Keg
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 8m
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content