It is not too easy to see the good points of "A Hijacking" if you have already seen "Captain Phillips" like me. Both of them tackle the topic of a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates. It is inevitable that they will be compared. They attack the story with vastly different approaches.
"Captain Phillips" is a Hollywood production. The action scenes were more intense, with nail-biting confrontation scenes and a bravura lead performance by Tom Hanks, ably supported by those scary Somalis pirates.
In contrast, "A Hijacking" is very low key in its treatment. There was no scene showing how the Somalis chased and boarded the ship. There was no scene of the captain trying to outwit the pirates. There was no scene of kidnapping in a lifeboat. There were no Navy Seals to the rescue. "A Hijacking" is more of a personal drama than action film.
The lead character in in the person of the cook, Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk). He represents the crew held in extremely uncomfortable conditions while unsure of their fate. The captain was not the focus here at all. He only figures in only one critical scene towards the end.
We do not see much of the Somali pirates themselves, nor do we understand what they were saying (no subtitles for their lines). We only understand their English-speaking negotiator, Omar.
They also show the tension going on in the board room of the shipping company in the person of their icy and soulless CEO (Søren Malling). The big bosses try to negotiate with the hijackers to bring down their formidable $15M ransom demand to a more reasonable price.
"A Hijacking" is a good film. However, the proximity of its release with that of the showier storytelling of "Captain Phillips" works to its disadvantage for majority of audiences.
"Captain Phillips" is a Hollywood production. The action scenes were more intense, with nail-biting confrontation scenes and a bravura lead performance by Tom Hanks, ably supported by those scary Somalis pirates.
In contrast, "A Hijacking" is very low key in its treatment. There was no scene showing how the Somalis chased and boarded the ship. There was no scene of the captain trying to outwit the pirates. There was no scene of kidnapping in a lifeboat. There were no Navy Seals to the rescue. "A Hijacking" is more of a personal drama than action film.
The lead character in in the person of the cook, Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk). He represents the crew held in extremely uncomfortable conditions while unsure of their fate. The captain was not the focus here at all. He only figures in only one critical scene towards the end.
We do not see much of the Somali pirates themselves, nor do we understand what they were saying (no subtitles for their lines). We only understand their English-speaking negotiator, Omar.
They also show the tension going on in the board room of the shipping company in the person of their icy and soulless CEO (Søren Malling). The big bosses try to negotiate with the hijackers to bring down their formidable $15M ransom demand to a more reasonable price.
"A Hijacking" is a good film. However, the proximity of its release with that of the showier storytelling of "Captain Phillips" works to its disadvantage for majority of audiences.