johnnyboyz There's a maddening, maddening scene in Secuestro Express in which a victim of a kidnapping ordeal is ordered to remove a substantially large amount of money from his bank account using his card, as the wrong-doers hold his female partner captive in a nearby jeep. Upon attaining the money, he's jumped by a third party thief; an individual whom hangs around the ATM machines, at whatever God-forsaken hour in the morning whilst no one is around, and jumps those removing hard cash from the machine. One of the kidnappers sees this and intervenes. It'll sound perverse, but it's an amusing situation; one of a number of gut wrenching and rather harrowing predicaments a number of characters find themselves in within Venezuelan born Jonathan Jakubowicz's film; a man painting a grim, glum and quite frightening picture of his home nation, indeed, his home city: the sort of place where the criminals try one over the criminals by targeting the weak in-between.That city is Caracas, the capital of the aforementioned Venezuela, as a number of short and sharp voice-overs consistently remind us. The set up is brief; the plunging us into a predicament is close to immediate, while the results are eerily effective. Express Kidnapping, to give it its English title, sees a young couple in Carla (Maestro) and Martin (Leroux) swiped off of the street by a gang of equally young, but significantly less-better off hoods armed with guns; a 4x4; a taste for ransom money and, eventually, an equally alarming taste for the lone female in the vehicle. The immediate beginning actually revolves around the kidnappers, with each of their names popping up on screen and a fast and frenetic aesthetic by way of edits and camera work sort-of complimenting the short, sharp and rough voice-overs that provide whatever back-story they're given. If we're honest, we might assume the film to be about them at this point.Jakubowicz demonstrates that he has an eye for particular styles that he knows complement particular passages of where we are in a film. His early style of hyper-kinetic and frothing mad camera complete with editing shoots all over the place before any audience member, indeed victim within the film, has any time to garner any sort of bearings. The early passage of events in the car shortly after the taking are brutal in their effectiveness. This is primarily, I think, because we, like the victims, are plunged into this predicament and share whatever confusion they do as we both come to terms with what's happened. The opening had gone to some length to introduce the kidnappers, only for the film to plunge us into the chaotic and 'flung-around' situation of the victims, thus we perceive things from their perspective and is an unexpected viewing position. The whole passage taps into a very primal fear linked to being in peril; held at ransom by an unknown force more powerful and larger in numbers than you as well as that sensation that automatically assuming whatever dreadful fate can happen, probably will.But the film levels out. Then again, perhaps it's the style that levels out. The automatic assumption that a highly stylised, and thus 'accessible', film that falls into some sort of crime genre embraces the acts on screen and renders them 'sexy' or 'fun' or 'good to look at' is easy. But this film isn't here to exploit, and its calming down following the initial incident is welcome as people begin to talk to one another and procedures are supposedly carried out. That isn't to say the danger evaporates, because it doesn't, but the kidnapped leads come to realise their situation and a similar progression is occurring with the audience as our own opinions and realisations on the situation are unfolding at exactly the same time.If we think of films that are either wildly kinetic in their delivery and overall feel or just carry that lush, good-looking sensibility from recent years, of which they might also be categorised as 'crime' films, Pierre Morel's 2008 film Taken might spring to mind. As also might one of Soderburgh's 'Ocean's' sequels – there may even be some that point to the first of that series. One of the very few films of this ilk from recent years that I thought pulled off this 'all over the place'; 'revenge and violence carries a certain "to be looked at-ness" appeal' without ever feeling exploitative was Tarantino's first Kill Bill volume; a film that utilised its female lead's chaotic and tragic circumstances to project real sense of anger as the film unfolded to whatever style and atmosphere Tarantino implemented on his text.I think Express Kidnapping balances whatever political or social issues the director has with what he's studying with that trashy, pulpy, throw-away approach you feel he wants to additionally get across. Carla's journey isn't necessarily about her developing as a female character and becoming more and more hard bodied, but then again it doesn't minimise her nor relegate her to any position of the 'weakling'. Rather, it is her partner that looses his head and she herself comes to identify the sexually charged predicament, using that to her advantage. More immediately, the film is concerned with the state of the the nation and these goings on. The film's ending is deceptively upbeat, but Jakubowicz is telling us the only real way anything is ever going to get done is if the scum continue to stalk the other scum and wipe them out for us, 'us' being the more innocent Venezuelans as well as the government themselves.Express Kidnapping doesn't exploit its subject matter for purposes of entertainment, while its shifts from a relaxed sense to a thoroughly frightening scenario throughout never feels mis-guided nor mis-judged. If more South American films can balance the 'accessibility' this film carries with a raw and social driven subject matter, I see nothing but good things for cinema from said part of the world.

jpschapira "Secuestro Express" began as a project for a short. Jonathan Jakubowickz had written a story and Sandra Condito and Elizabeth Avellán, among others, wanted to make it happen. For reasons that don't matter to me, the short became a full-length feature film, the hours became longer, the work became harder… The result makes notorious that it was supposed to be a short, because it runs obligatorily too long. However, it's a total thrill and it keeps your eyes on the screen for its hour and a half. After Jakubowickz made his story longer, the characters took shape, and what could have been a tale of soulless kidnappers, is a glance at human beings who care for their city, even when they do what they do.Jakubowickz' ferocious camera is a representation of the Venezuelan reality; it moves unsure, it accelerates constantly. With guts and courage, the director puts his imagination in motion, and shows to us the two sides of the city; the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the ones who eat and the ones who can't, the ones who live and the ones who are dying. The Latin American reality is not far from what Jakubowickz presents. In fact, there are thousands of kidnappings like the ones this movie illustrates, every day."Express"; quick, effective and only sometimes successful. The types of persons, who do this; act, dress and talk like the film's kidnapping threesome: Nigga Sibilino, Budú and their leader Trece. Interestingly, this is how these three men call themselves artistically. They are part of a hip-hop band called "3 Dueños". Jakubowickz got to them by listening to their music, and the characters he wrote for them fit perfectly with their personalities; he knows it and they know it.One of the many highlights of this picture is that all the characters are very close to the actors' realities. The three kidnappers come originally from the suburbs, and they didn't have to make an effort for their portrayals; they had it in them. A permanent improvisation is clearly noticeable and it reassures the "reality" of the film. When the three of them grab Martín (Jean Paul Leroux) and Carla (Mía Maestro) and scream: "Don't look at my face", they say it because it works like that.They are not joking with the guns they carry with them, they are not joking when they call Carla's father (the genius Ruben Blades), and they are not joking with the drugs they purchase from Marcelo (Ermahn Ospina), a Colombian and homosexual dealer. The scenes that the movie develops are determined by a voice that announces the time ("5 a.m., in Caracas"). The best moments are the ones you feel connected to, because you identify with them. When they are stopped by the police, for example; and a simple exchange fixes the situation.When Trece talks to Carla about the city and about what's going on. "What's the secret?", she inquires. Trece explains, and you easily realize that Carlos Molina put the most commitment into his character. He achieves something there, there's an emotion felt that Pedro Pérez and Carlos Madera lack. If what the film's doing is leaving a message, I respect it. But that message won't make anyone change, because it takes a lot more in a world like this one.What I can say for sure are two things: "Secuestro Express" is a calling to Venezuelan cinema, these days when it's so difficult to make a complete movie; and it is so real and so true, that you will be scared to be out on the street after watching it.

csarda1 This movie is simply an offensive, unreal and exploitative movie made by a Cheap Tarantino rip off, who didn't hesitate to sell out his country culture to get a shameful pass to Hollywood..Jakubowikz is even lower than the characters depicted in his awful piece of cinematic dung.It portraits Caracas (and Latin America by rebound) as a horrible and inhospitable hellhole of drugs, constant street violence and utterly corrupt and extremely putrid Cops (and Military) , with nothing redeeming and not a trace of law and order at all.The stupid, unreal kidnappers depicted here justify their actions by pointing out that most of the country is starving, like it were an excuse to commit crime and behave sadistically."Gangsta" Robin Hoods, what an original idea !! Is full of cheap clichés and unreal characters: 1.- An unbelievable middle Class "Social Justice warrior" street lowlife with a "heart of gold" , associated with2.-The two little-better-than-animals, sadistic "ghetto-Gangsta" insufferable stereotypes.Dark skinned and extremely poor, of course. The darker a guy is, the worse.3.- The "poor little rich girl cliché" who volunteers at a public clinic and loves the "poor and the pauper" but also likes to party wildly, swallow tons of pills and several other drugs (a cross between Mother Theresa and Sid Vicious) AND, inexplicably, is deeply in love and ENGAGED with 4.- An incredibly shallow, insensitive, inhuman, unmoral, cocaine-loving, unlikable, twisted sociopath, stupid, antipathetic upper class boyfriend.There's some unreal situations: After a five year relationship and in a matter of few hours, Martin, the creepy Boyfriend:1.- Goes "out of the closet" and, in a hateful and Homophobic manner, he sodomizes (and enjoys it!!) a gay drug dealer who just saved his life (and who happens to be an old friend!!) in a middle of a death threatening situation, with his five-year-relationship fiancée left alone with the thugs, with both of their lives at stake.It takes a mindless, utterly twisted inhuman pervert in hard drugs to have that kind of behavior in a situation like this. 2.-After being caught in the middle of the despicable Homo act , The creepy boyfriend is RIDICULED by his own loving girlfriend, who joins the three thugs in the mocking and in a small drug party, like they were old, good friends!! Totally believable, Yeah, right 3.- After a five year loving relationship, He doesn't hesitate to cowardly abandon his fiancée in the hands of the thugs at the first opportunity he has to escape and without asking for any help.Not even Jeffrey Dahmer would do that.4.- There are thousands of taxis and Buses in Caracas, but He chose to escape precisely the one the thug's accomplice is driving. What a coincidence.5.- Absolutely all the Police force in Venezuela is utter corrupt, even worse than the criminals they pursue. And the military officers and soldiers are all gays. I wonder how Venezuela still exists.The "acting" of this cinematic excrement consists basically in:a) Point guns to a head. Every five seconds. b) Make rape and execution threats. Also every five seconds. c) insults, cheap drug and sex jokes and swearing. All over the movie. d) Beat and be beaten. 89% of the movie. e) Venezuelan alienated and low "Gangsta slang" e) And, mostly, an individual and extraordinary effort to be as unlikable and cliché as possible.There is also an embarrassing, pitiful and self humiliating Ruben Blades cameo. If he needed the money so bad, He would better off singing.This movie IS NOT a socio-political drama and , despite the film's pretensions to social relevance, there is nothing to be learned here and no pleasure to be had.It also doesn't offer nothing new to film-making, The style is a compendium of Tarantino-Rodriguez pulp rip offs and more-than-exploited post-production Timewarps and Freeze frames, all wrapped in a NOISY (not grainy, NOISY, video gives noise) Envelope. Nothing original.Just a very bad, derivative, sensationalistic, exploitative and utterly low piece of crap.Venezuelan people should be ashamed of themselves to glorify this stupid, alienated, offensive and unreal vision of his own country. I bet my life that most of them never have been robbed, don't live in Venezuela, never been in a Venezuelan ghetto or never have met poor people.They don't deserve to be Venezuelans. They don't deserve to be citizens of any country.Some guy wrote in one of the glorifying reviews that the absurd and sensationalistic Plot is "100% REAL". Maybe He'd like to hatefully sodomize a Gay guy while both his and her girlfriend's lives are at stake.Or maybe He already did it.This exploitation movie is Venezuelan (And Latin American) cinema, pride and dignity at his lowest.BTW, The miserable, sold-out, Tarantino cheap rip off Director IS A LIAR, He has NEVER been Kidnnaped, He LIED to gain Publicity and to Justify and to give "social relevance" and "reality" to his repugnant,vile and UNREAL excuse of a movie.When the movie debuted in Venezuela, He pointed that He had never been Kidnapped. He changed that story later, because of the limited and undeserved media hip.I'm sure that if He were been kidnapped, and the movie were really inspired on His adventure and faithful to the facts, the Homo episode would have been different, something like all the thugs sodomizing the male Hostage. And the latter enjoying it.Mia Maestro shows She can act, is really a shame she was part of this repulsive abomination.PLEASE, don't believe this atrocious movie, Venezuela is much more than that.Is not ONE out of ten, is ZERO out of ten. Less than ZERO.

leilapostgrad Let this film serve as a public service announcement, at the very least. When driving anywhere in any major Latin American city, don't drive a big, shiny, expensive SUVs because you're only begging to make yourself a target. Secuestro Express is less than 24 hours in the life of a rich, young couple and the car-jackers who take them hostage. It's quick-passed, violent, bloody, and even funny at times. It feels real and tangible.While in the custody of their kidnappers, the young couple is taken to a flamingly gay cocaine dealer who ends up having sex with the male hostage. The beautiful woman hostage is taken to an abandoned and rundown apartment where she is almost raped and is tripping on the ecstasy pills she was forced to take.In other words, Secuestro Express is not appropriate for small children, but it is a hell of a ride along the lines of Traffic and Pulp Fiction. But it takes place in the seemingly lawless town of Caracas, Venezuela, and that makes it even scarier.