Kidnapped in Romania

At the time of writing, this movie only has two very negative reviews. This has motivated me to write a review to provide some balance.

While I don't rate this a great movie, I quite liked it. It was nicely shot, the acting was competent and the story line was intriguing. One reviewer's objections were the cinematography, which I thought very good, and the inclusion of corrupt police, which is a staple of industry.

The other reviewer's objection seemed to be the ethnic diversity of the actors for a movie set in Romania. It is a movie, a work of fiction, not a documentary. As far as I know there are no Hobbits living in New Zealand and no wizards living in the UK, that hasn't stopped the Lord of the Rings movies or the Harry Potter movies being very popular (although not my taste). As far as I know interstellar space travel is not possible, but Alien was a great movie.

The story line of this movie reminded me of Homer's Odyssey mixed with elements of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The cinematography was Felliniesque. The interest is in character development and the reactions of characters to the situations they find themselves in. If you only are interested in Hollywood action movies then you may want to avoid this movie. If you want to sit down with an open mind for 90 minutes and think about what you are seeing then I suggest you consider watching this movie.

This was a strange movie. I mean, there was a plot. It's just that the rest like character depth and acting was left out completely.

This film was, in my opinion, the worst thing I have ever seen. There were plot holes (more like sink holes) that were so big they were unavoidable. The theft of the items from the car, the abduction, the lack of anything of interest happening, the ridiculously slow pace and the terrible dialogue were just the start.

The acting was bad, especially considering the actors have been in numerous projects previously. Or maybe, just maybe, they were acting terrible and, as such, they are amazing actors.

I really struggled through the first 10 minutes and decided to persevere through to the end, but as I had no interest in the characters or even the outcome at any point, I really would give this movie a wide berth.

How they convinced Michael Madsen or Paul Sorvino to even be associated with this is perhaps the greatest mystery of our generation.

Watching paint dry really IS more fun.

You haven't heard of the black guy Vasile? In fact, the actor Eebra Toore? He's the greatest actor in the whole world ever, this film is strong evidence. And you haven't heard neither of the black Bogdan guy? I mean, the actor Gouchy Boy? He's even bigger than the first one, big in everything, also present in this production. Awkward, uncomfortable, embarrassing, pathetic, that's all I can say. I am Romanian myself and I feel awkward to see Maia Morgenstern, who starred in "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) and "Ulysses' Gaze" (1995) in this total embarrassing production. I know how hard it is to be an actor, especially in a region like Romania. I wonder how much they were paid, Michael Madsen, Paul Sorvino, Maia Morgenstern.

This so call „movie" got me very angry, because of the stereotypical portraying of Romanians. We are not like they mock us in this mediocre production. „Kidnapped in Romania„ should never been released, it"s deeply racial and a very, very bad attempt of movie-making. Let"s start with the beginning: the acting is awful, the characters very poorly written, like the nonexistent script. I don"t know how Michael Madsen accepted to be part of such a stupid movie. Practically, we have two lovers coming to Romania for a tourism documentation and some rednecks aka Romanians who „kidnapped them". This production seems like a blow in the head for us, because of the unjust portraying of our people: a bunch of savages and gypsies. And that"s not all: for a unknown reason, the roles of the Romanians are played by blacks and Asians, another racial part of the movie. Why such a terrible parody? Why mocking Romanians? Do yourself a favor and don"t watch this production, even if you are Romanian. Don"t let the names fool you: Maia Morgenstern, Paul Sorvino, Michael Madsen. I am a movie lover and i saw many terrible movies in my life (so i can appreciate the golden ones), but this one it"s purely mean and useless.

I am half Romanian and I believe that many people from Romania are not open minded, they don't understand that a movie is usually an act of fiction. What about Tarantino that used a French actress playing the Yacuza boss? I believe that this movie has many new elements for a movie made in East Europe. Photography is great, the plot runs good, it's not boring, the dialogues stop at the right time, there is action and suspense, it has a very unexpected end, too. Some actors are good, others great and it's amazing to see how Michael Madson feels comfortable in the Romanian countryside. There are some moments that made me laugh, the two young peasants are very funny. I think this film is a mix of drama, action, thriller, romance and comedy, all treated in a smooth way. The locations and the landscapes seemed to me like extrapolated from a romantic ballad, I liked the guitar , too; made contrast with the danger and the wickedness of the evil characters. Certainly, the cover of the DVD doesn't make justice at all, if you expect guns and bombs, this is not the right movie. As far as I know, especially in independent movies, many times it is not the director's or producer's choice, but the movie seller's. It is very hard for a Romanian featured film to be sold all over the world and this one did. Liked it!