Secuestro Express
Secuestro Express (English: Express Kidnapping) is a 2005 Venezuelan crime film directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz and starring Mía Maestro, Jean Paul Leroux and Rubén Blades. The film became the second highest grossing film of all time in Venezuela; Miramax Films released the film in the United States and some other countries theatrically, making it the first Venezuelan film to be distributed internationally by a major Hollywood studio. Plot The film follows the kidnapping of Carla (Maestro) and her boyfriend when they are suddenly kidnapped in Caracas, Venezuela. Carla (Mía Maestro) and Martin (Jean Paul Leroux) are a young upper-class couple fresh from a night of dancing and partying when they cross paths with Trece (Carlos Julio Molina), Budu (Pedro Perez) and Niga (Carlos Madera), three men who make their living by kidnapping unwitting young adults to extort quick money from their wealthy parents. Carla and Martin become their next victims and are sent on a terrifying overnight journey through Caracas as they wait for Carla's father Sergio (Rubén Blades) to hand over twenty thousand dollars - a small amount for a rich Caraqueño, but the equivalent of more than 8 years of the Venezuelan minimum wage. They are emotionally and physically hurt, but soon form a relationship with their captors to try to escape. However, none of their plans pan out. They continue in the Land Cruiser, listening and understanding, even if slightly, their captor's point of view. Through the many mishaps they encounter, they begin to, albeit scarily, bond with the kidnappers. Martin flees the kidnappers in a crowded square, telling Niga to kill his girlfriend, abandoning her. However, he is soon apprehended by one of their cronies and returned to them and murdered in the trunk of a taxi. After her father pays their ransom, the kidnappers heatedly argue over her fate, between murder, rape, and release. Trece pays some of his shares to the others to release her unharmed, and Carla is soon released, only to be found by another set of kidnappers. However, Trece returns to the scene and shoots them, freeing her again at that time. In the final scene she can be seen with much more modest attire and an inelegant car, continuing her work with sickly, impoverished children. Production Jakubowicz wrote the screenplay based on his own experience of being kidnapped. Reception Secuestro Express was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2005 British Independent Film Awards. It was passed uncut (certificate 18) for DVD release in the UK by the British Board of Film Classification. It was released in the UK around the time of a visit by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, but did not coincide. The social narrative is highly discussed, with critics generally in agreement that social issues are made apparent but not commented on, with no "well-examined social theory". According to critic Ed Gonzalez, the film overall gives a "juvenile inspection of [the] country's moral oblivion", and shows a "pat reduction of [its] machismo". Another, Elizabeth Weitzman, offers