It is a good work, but I think this film is VASTLY overrated by venezuelan voters. It is the best venezuelan film ever made?
The movie has reached an international distribution (by Miramax) thanks to the husband’s producer Robert Rodriguez, he has high influence in Hollywood, thus he was able to reach an agreement with Miramax supporting his wife: the venezuelan Elizabeth Avellan. Rodriguez influence did better than the quality of the film.
It is also the biggest box office hit of all times in Venezuela, beating The Passion of the Christ and Star Wars. I would say 80% of the film is lost in translation. You might want to sit down with a venezuelan when the DVD comes out and have him explain the importance of it, scene by scene, location by location, role by role. I'm sure Rodriguez had a big part in selling the movie to Miramax, but the cultural influence the movie has had in the venezuelan society is undeniable.
shareuhmmmm... I'm not sure if Secuestro Express is the "biggest box office hit of all times in Venezuela". Regarding to venezuelan movies, I think this title belongs to Macu, la mujer del policia. But I might be wrong.
Then, if our foreign friends needs "to sit down with a venezuelan when the DVD comes out and have him explain the importance of it, scene by scene, location by location, role by role" maybe this movie shouldn't have been distributed internationally in the first place.
I'm from Venezuela and I think this is a pretty decent action movie, but I don't blame foreign people if they don't understand nothing at all and think this is an overrated film. Maybe venezuelan filmmakers need to learn how to take our local situations to the big screen in a truly universal language.
Just because it has Venezuelan cultural crap in it doesn't make a movie good.
shareAlso, truth being said, Venezuela has relegated itself over the years to sort of worshiping anything made abroad, which is way it has been so difficult for native musicians, movies or anything art getting made...because it simply doesn't sell as well as the foreign thing.
Thankfully, this has been changing little by little, and all sorts of credit for all of those artists who have made it against the odds.
This movie is the first time, since I can recall, that Venezuela gets noticed abroad, for something different than Chavez and their "beauty queens"...Colombia has Shakira, Juanes, Montoya and more...Brazil has been doing great movies lately and they have their well deserved recognition for them, etc etc
So for us, Venezuelans, this movie means more than people abroad can think of...is an achievement of all levels: political, intelectual, social and so on.
It might be the begining of a made in Venezuela movie boom -hopefully-, if freedom of speech allows them to go on.
You are absolutelly right, this movie is way too over-rated, and no, it's not the best venezuelan movie ever made.
The big deal whit this film if exactly that "The movie has reached an international distribution (by Miramax) == HOLLYWOOD" and the weaked mind thinks thats worth a 10.
PS: Sorry for my crappy English, It's not my native language.
C.U. Chummers.
y2kaoz
In your opinion whats the best venezuelan movie?
shareoriana y cuando quiero llorar no lloro, secuestro es un film malo, con huecos en la trama, actuaciones dudables y situaciones que te desvian del sentimiento que deberias de tener
yo le doy 2.5/5 a secuestro express
Agree. SO OVERRATED.
shareOriana, si tienes razon, pero cuando quiero llorar no lloro, es colombiana... pero ademas de oriana, que mas? operacion chocolate? o la patruya BMX???
shareGOLPES A MI PUERTA
shareI think it's pretty accurate to say that the essence of the film is kind of lost in translation. I'm from Venezuela and almost every Venezuelan loves the movie. It presents a real look not only at the event of the kidnapping but it is also true to the way people speak in the streets and stuff, that is the reason why a great part of the dialog of the movie is improvised by the three secuestradores(kidnappers). The director had made the script but it sounded too unreal, therefore he gave them the liberty to improvise, them being famous hip-hop stars in Vzla.
shareDesnudo con naranjas
shareWhy this movie is over-rated?
This movie has no political intention... It only became a political debate once that the VP of Venezuela said it was a "miserable movie"... Unlike "El Caracazo" by Roman Chalbaud, who is a militant of a political party, and made that movie financed by the government... Maybe you think "El Caracazo" is good, so go see the genius of Roman Chalbaud, and maybe you'll be one of the ten people who will see that movie... =)
share[deleted]
How do you know anything about venezuela in serbia?... If you knew anything you'd know this is very much a reality venezuelans are subjected to. It is a rare weekend in Venezuela when the death toll goes below 70 or 80 (the population is around 26 million, so its one of the highest gun related death rates per capita). This movie was made by venezuelans with no political intentions. Only to reflect a part of the reality that is there. Your support of the dictatorship is just sad, but I guess you get all your news from venezuela from government funded sources, as the bunch of lies sold as "the revolution will not be televised" That's the real propaganda. Venezuela will one day be free again, and all these criminals stealing the venezuelan money, and repressing and killing people fighting for freedom will have to pay
shareyou obviously don't know what you're talking about, in fact the film as raw as most people might think it is doesn't make justice to how horrible a kidnapping is and how corruption and insecurity are a major problem inside the venezuelan society. And NO! of course every venezuelan isn't a murderer, a drug dealer or a kidnapper but you have to remember that the movie doesn't have a lot of characters. there are three kidnappers and two hostages, they are of course bad and the other two are victims. what we see during most of the picture is the kidnnappers' unviroment(and by experience, it is much rougher in real life)and in fact one of the kidnappers turns out to be basically a good guy and one of the victims a complete *beep* The rest of the caracters are of course the kidnappers' "friends" so they're also "bad" (drug dealers and so on). The girl is a very good person and the girl's father is not a son of a bitch or anything so NO, the movie isn't either about a city full of only gangsters and drug dealers. It is about a "secuestro express" that means a quick and violent kidnapping it is about takeing you through the experience of one, it is terror and it is stuff that exists and if every venezuelan was like all the people in the movie no one would've found it interesting, would they? So stop making mindless comments and think a little before saying anything. I have been kidnapped and I thought the movie was great. Most people haven't been kidnapped and most people in the middle and the upper class haven't lived or seen anything even close to that level of violence or corruption but the movie is that is a journey through a world that exists and a glimpse of things that do happen, remember that the hostages never imagined something like that would happen, they were aware of insecurity but it had never hit them like that but a lot of people live in "ghettos" and a lot good hardworking people are often victims of crime and not all the time are criminals "bad people" either. It's a social desease and it is not a simple situation, if it was it would've been already resolved. And in the end, IT IS JUST A BLOODY MOVIE!!! if it was real it would've been so rough that most people wouldn't have been able to see it all and it is a really good movie because I can assure you that anybody in Venezuela felt very secure when they left the theater.
shareThis movie is not over rated, in fact if more North Americans saw it maybe they might get a clue. Jonathon's brilliant direction tells a story that works, because of it's heartfelt honesty. This is an all Venezuelan project, with the sole exception of the post production. As regards the silly rumors of Mr. Rodrigues' involvement, let me say that there was none, other than his allowing the use of his post facilities, and editors. I believe that when the Wiensteins saw Secuestro, they enjoyed it. So much so, they bought it for American distribution, and made subtle and minimal changes to the film for the North American market. There is even talk that they have offered Jonathan a movie to direct for thier new compamy. Well, congratulations-He deserves it. Secuestro is one of those rare films, that is practically perfect in every way, if anything, it is under-rated and under valued.
shareSorry for replying so late, but being venezuelan I've to say that the direction it's great (not brilliant) but the script it's not good, not good at all. I think Jonathan's is a great director and may direct some cool movies in the near future, but I hope he doesn't writes them. My problem starts when he wanted his movie to be sent to Oscar Awards to represent our country just because the movie was successful (not the most successful) in Venezuela. I think he needs to step down to earth and keep on working.
shareThis movie is not overrated. If maybe it isn't the BEST venezuelan film ever made, it sure does the justice for the ACTUAL situation in the country, as long as the danger in the cities come. And having aside the fact that it mainly degrades de goverment, EVERYBODY on this country lives under the effects of this movie, no one is save of living one of this "express", and those who simpatize with Chavez even more, 'cause most of that population lives in neighborhoods with bad situations....
And yes, it's the first film to be get an international distribution, but since it doesn't say anything good about the goverment, the burned copies in the street were took by the police (piracy in vzla has gone mad, it's incredibly massive), and banned from movie theaters, and it was also banned from participating in the Oscars, what a shame.
After all... what I wanted to say, is that.... the film is NOT overrated. Period.
If life sends u lemons, send it to go *beep* up its grandpa 'cause it hit you on the forehead!
i think it is 'cause this Jonathan Jakubowicz has a lot of people he knows and he tell'em to vote. thats why. we venezuelan like to hear words like "verga coño mamaguevo nojoda" and like to see "malandros de lejito" that's delinquents on screen, fights and shoots from a healthy distance.
Jakubowicz is a name from where??
im not goin' to feel sorry for my english
Because most of Venezuelan Cinema is too pretentious... This movie might be made by an arrogant director who thought he was making a masterpiece of social comment (just as Chalbaud thinks of himself) but what came out is something that venezuelans didn't found in venezuelan cinema from a long time ago: an entertaining movie...
"Punto y Raya" was also entertaining and also made a lot of buzz...
I don't think "Punto y Raya" was such a buzz like "Express" was, I mean, it did get a lot of promotion, and they aired just a couple of months later on RCTV, but it wasn't so big... I went to see, and the room was sorta empty, and the two times I went to see "Express" that thing was totally full!!
Also, about El Caracazo, I asked yesterday an aunt if she would go to see the movie or buy it, she said she wouldn't give her money to the goverment watching that piece of crap, obviously she's against Chavez. But, I gotta disagree with her, even though this was made by an officialist filmmaker, and financied by the goverment,and starring two of the most hated celebrities in Venezuela (Pestana and Carrillo)... it should be interesting to see, I mean, it's about other situation that affected the lives of millions in the capital of our country. Besides Chaulbaud has some what of a good directing sense, so I'm going to see it.
If life sends u lemons, send it to go *beep* up its grandpa 'cause it hit you on the forehead!
Well, I have never liked Chalbaud, and that's got nothing to do with his political ideals. If you ask me, as we venezuelans say "I think that as a film director, he's a great theater director..." In other words, I believe most of the time his directing and dialogs are much more like a theater play than a film.
Also, I believe he's one of the directors that makes "social cinema" more based in stereotypes than reality. I like social cinema, but GOOD social cinema, like "Cidade de Deus"...
Many people criticize Jakubowicz because he's a "sifrino" who knows nothing about the "barrios"... And that's completely true. Lucky for him, he worked with Budu an *beep* who helped him with the dialoging for the script. The thing is that Chalbaud doesn't live in a "barrio" either, and for that reason, many of his characters are types or stereotypes, but never archetypes or multidimendional characters.
Secuestro Express had no glorious script, but if you ask me, I believe it had a pretty good direction. At least it doen't look like I went to the theater, as I feel with movies by Chalbaud, Diego Risquez and lot of others "artistic" directors.
Anyway, go to see it and have fun... =)