BelugaJames

Kidnapped

Effective in its brutality, performances, and filmmaking. The usage of long takes and split screens really helps amplify the tension, and ground the film in reality. Bleak, and dispiriting as films of this type often are, with a decent feint towards a “happy” ending. Unlike the best extreme films, I’m not sure this one has much to say, though perhaps the Albanian identities of the perpetrators vs the native Spaniards is a social message I’m too American to understand without further reference. That said, the film never revels in the violence, which allows the harrowing journey to continue without pulling you out of the film.