“Secuestro Express”
“Secuestro Express” is not just the name of the 2005 Venezuelan film, but also the name of a specific crime that the movie is about. Translated from Spanish to English, "secuestro" is kidnapping, and "express," well…so we are left with "express kidnapping" which is apparently a prevalent crime in Venezuela, and presumably even more so in the capital of Caracas. Thus our plot- three Venezuelan thugs, Trece, Budu, and Niga (all effective non-professionals) wait outside a club in Caracas at 5 AM (a wonderful thing about Latin America is no last call, the party lasts all weekend) for someone to kidnap. They spot Carla (Mia Maestro; Frida, Alias) and Martin (Jean Paul Leroux) a couple with nice clothes and a nice car. Martin is a bit of a rich jerk, Carla the bleeding heart who works in a medical clinic (these halfhearted clichéd characterizations reflect their flatness in the film). They are kidnapped at gunpoint. Much of the rest of the movie will be spent in the car as we wait for a ransom. The point of a secuestro express is its quickness; kidnap, call for ransom, in and out in a few hours. So they call Carla’s father (legendary Panamanian musician/actor/politician Ruben Blades) and ask for $20,000 Venezuelan.
Meanwhile we get to know our kidnappers and -ees. Budu has a young son who calls him as he is missing his father. He tells him he is working. Carla tries to sympathize with the kidnappers, she understands the humongous disparity in wealth that exists in Caracas and tells them that she works in a clinic. "Look at your dress and your car though," they tell her.
The men are all violent but different. Budu is friendly then threatening. Trece is all business but soon also falls romantically for the beautiful Carla.
The movie has a message. It is trying to open the viewers’ eyes to the wealth disparity that creates such crime as kidnapping. And through the different characters and their conversations, we glimpse the different aspects of Venezuelan society. Illuminating the terrifying reality of a secuestro express would have been enough, yet the movie takes an almost dantean approach to the underbelly of Caracas society. To wit: one of the kidnappers gets out at an ATM with Martin, who is promptly held up at gunpoint. He tells the would-be mugger “I’m being kidnapped!” It is a scene of wonderfully terrible absurdity. There is a drug dealer that the kidnappers go to for cocaine. There are plot turns and un-wise decisions. Police make for close calls, but can they be trusted?
Unfortunately “Secuestro Express,” the top grossing Venezuelan movie of all time, has as much going against it as it does for it. The film is shot on digital video, and a low quality. It looks rather horrible, duly lit and shot so tightly and with such a long lens that it basically looks like low grade reality tv/home videos. The sound isn’t much better, which is a shame because the chaotic cross-conversational dialogue taking place in a car full of kidnappers and victims is often wonderfully executed. The editing lacks polish as well. Why must we suffer with these split screens, fast forwards and further assorted attempts at style? Why must we have on-screen writing that tell us the characters names and traits? And why must the film’s message often be so heavy handed (ending in a voice over proverb)? No matter, clearly it resonated in Venezuela, as a film about something particularly violent, real, and Latin American. A flawed film, but at times fascinating, it attempts at the gray area that the most beautiful films achieve, it just reaches it in a rather sloppy fashion.
Story: B The secuestro express is a terrifying and fascinating reality. Through it, the filmmakers attempt to cry out to the world that Latin America’s wealth disparity must be solved. BUT…there are also some clunky plot devices thrown in.
Acting: B- Pretty good. At times the kidnappers, especially Budu, are brilliant, other times things fall apart.
Visuals: D Biggest problem with the film. I understand digital, and cheap digital was used for budget and getting a whole bunch of cameras close in on a car but that doesn’t make up for it looking bad, and the awful colors…
Originality/Innovation: B Kidnapping film is not original. Neither is seeing the kidnappers human side and the victim’s non-human side, but the secuestro express, the specific latin American kidnapping, and the journey thru the underbelly of Caracas is…
Enjoyability Grade: B Sometimes gripping, the next minute clunky, but held my interest, even ifthe ending sort of betrayed it.
Overall Grade: B- Interesting and possibly fascinating if you can get past the look, editing, and a few glaring bumps in the story.
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