Somali pirates take over cargo ship in tense, expertly made film

“A Hijacking” &gt;

Rating: R

When: Opens Friday

Where: Landmark Ken

Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes



Tobias Lindholm, writer-director of “A Hijacking,” also co-wrote “The Hunt,” for which Mads Mikkelsen (NBC’s “Hannibal”) won the Best Actor Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Despite what Hollywood would have you think, piracy remains a serious business. The new film “A Hijacking” is thousands of miles away from the usual summer fare, practically the same distance between the poor crew of a cargo ship taken hostage and their families anxiously waiting back home. There are no doubloons in Tobias Lindholm’s second feature; no one flies the skull and crossbones. There are no krakens and no Johnny Depp, but this new Danish film is a lean, stressful nail-biter, smart, well-written, nicely shot and wonderfully performed. It is easily one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year.

You wouldn’t necessarily call it a thriller, because it doesn’t set out to terrify you, but “A Hijacking” is harrowing, despite never resorting to graphic violence or exploitation. Primarily, it’s about two men whose lives and psyches are upended when the MV Rozen, a Danish cargo ship, is hijacked by Somali pirates who are operating far outside their usual turf.

One of these men is the ship’s cook, Mikkel Hartmann (Pilou Asbæk), who is used as a pawn by the pirates and their spokesman, Omar (Abdihakin Asgar). The other is Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling), the shipping company’s CEO, an intelligent, controlled corporate shark. A master negotiator, he is used to understanding, completely, how to handle any sort of deal, so he decides, against the advice of his K&R (kidnap and ransom) consultant, to handle the negotiations himself, a choice that involves him emotionally in ways he is entirely unprepared for.

Both Asbæk and Malling give extraordinary performances, and they are backed up by Lindholm’s tight, terse screenplay. His direction is assured and yet light — the camera never takes over a shot until the film’s climax, and he opts for a sense of realism and minimalism that often makes “A Hijacking” feel almost like a documentary. Lindholm keeps his cards close, often giving the viewer only the limited information possessed by one of his characters. The emotional highs and lows are extreme, as the movie goes back and forth between the board room and the sweltering ship. For both Mikkel and Peter, the stakes are desperately high, whereas for the pirates, these events are just another day at the office.

The process, sorting out a fair price for the ship and the crew, takes months, and that time takes a toll on both men. His captors toy with Mikkel, convincing him that he could be shot in the head at any moment. Halfway around the world, Peter has to live with the fact that one misstep on his part could actually kill one of his employees. It culminates with an ending that is perfect, unexpected and tragic, leaving you reeling, your own emotions hijacked by this tremendous new film.



