Many years ago, Jean
Paul Getty III, grandson of the legendary oil tycoon was kidnapped. The perpetrators
demanded $17 million. To prove they had him, they sent one of the boy’s ears
along with the ransom note. Adolph Coors III was kidnapped as was Frank Sinatra Jr. and Patty Hearst. Kidnapping for profit has not only happened
to children of celebrities and not only to the super rich, it is a real life
business where regular folks can be taken away and returned for surprisingly
small amounts. Then again, some are not
returned at all.
Kidnapping has been a way of life, far more popular than
bank robberies, for gangs in Mexico and in South America. Extreme poverty amidst the extreme wealth
add a political dimension, and to some a justifiable reason for the act. In societies where the haves must live behind
gated communities with hired security and the have-nots in tin huts in rambling
slums, this kind of lucrative but dangerous vocation seems to thrive.
In Secuesto Express,
we meet the do-gooder daughter of a wealthy man and her shallow boyfriend,
playboy son of another wealthy man. They
are the targets of three men whose business model is bleeding the rich by
stealing their offspring and returning them for a ransom amount that is
relatively modest for the rich, but a tidy sum for the thieves. The film provokes the one percent vs 99
percent questions.
I had almost recommended that the second film here be Towards Darkness, another ransom film,
this one grittily set in Colombia. It is darker than Secuesto and has a tough, bitter end, where the payoff is bigger
than the build up. However, it doesn’t have the charm nor the dark, almost Coen
Brotheresque approach that Secuesto
brings to the screen. In this case, the God of Fate has a sense of humor, it
seems.
Most of us, having been weaned on American films, tend to
have victims of kidnappings to be sympathetic characters. Otherwise, why would we care whether or not
they are rescued and reunited with their loving families? And the movie is usually a minute-by-minute,
life-and-death thriller about the rescue itself. Rapt
is something else.
It is French and therefore we might expect it to be stylish
and intellectual. It is. The film sets
up moral dilemmas slightly more complex than the effects of serious wealth
disparities — jealousy, resentment, and retaliation. A man who seems to have it all — looks, money,
power, social status, taste, a beautiful and loving family, and an exotic
lifestyle — is plucked from the streets.
The asking price for his safe return, in this case, is not at all
modest.
At a point where most films would begin to unfold the thrilling
and or intricate ways the good guys get the victim back, Rapt goes somewhere else.
Much of the victim’s fortune is tied up in the business. In fact, reporters investigating the juicy
story uncover a man who loved to gamble and, who had serious gambling
debts. There was also the matter of a
second, secret apartment for his assignations with other women. And questions arise about his management
skills. While the negotiations are under way, the second in command seems to be
taking care of business quite well and the board learns he has been doing so
for quite some time. Though the rich
victim is physically missing, those around him — family, friends and business
associates — discover who he actually is — and are not at all sure that they
miss him. Knowing him, how much do they
want him back?
Secuestro Express
was released in 2005 and Rapt in
2009. Both were based to some extent on
real-life events. Both were critically
well-received and feel very much in touch with the times.
For your trip to Caracas, remember the Venezuelans love cold
beer, the colder the better. Rum would
work as well. For Paris and the French
half? What is your mood? If you are in the part of the country still
suffering from the heat wave, perhaps a chilled dry white wine.
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