398 Tage - Gefangener des IS

The Nordic triple combo of Denmark-Sweden-Norway serves up a very oppressive and stifling drama from an uncomfortable setting and it is as expected a blast! The main character is Daniel, who starts working as a photographer and gets an offer to go to Syria to document the lives of the locals. There he is captured by Islamists and the biggest nightmare of his life begins. The film has a very distressing atmosphere if only because of the harsh environment of Syria where Daniel is held, tortured and abused by terrorists who want a large ransom for him. If you think you'll be relieved at the change of scenery to Denmark, you're out of luck. For there, the family mourns the fact that they will never see their son again and is desperate to raise the ransom money, with the help of a local kidnapping expert. Both storylines have a strong emotional charge, a stifling atmosphere and there are tears in the finale. Quality based on true events. Recommended. Story*****, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment****, Music***, Visual****, Atmosphere*****, Suspense****. 8.5/10. (15.09.2020)

A movie based on a book written from true events that are still relevant today. Filmed by a director who has just returned from overseas, hat in hand, still covered in tar and feathers. The cards couldn't be dealt any worse. I remain mystified by the need to follow big stories where we know from the start that the hero is going to get away with it, we just get to watch him get brutalized for thirteen months, all spiced up by the fact that the wounds here are still too fresh for any revision or retreat from the simple strong story of the hero who endures. What was most interesting, then, were the passages with the ex-soldier delivering a ransom note in the desert outside Aleppo in the morning, meeting the family of the missing man in Copenhagen for lunch, and movingly breaking down at a funeral in New Hampshire that evening. The rest may be reality, but cinematically it’s run of the mill. Life sucks. Plus, I spent half the movie expecting Scott Adkins to somehow kick everybody thing and run away, only to find out that Adkins wasn't even in it. Sadness. (03.06.2020)

These Danish filmmakers have succeeded in creating an extremely intense and realistic movie where every minute counts. The gripping story of photojournalist Daniel Rye makes you think about what is really important in life. My great admiration and appreciation goes to all journalists and photographers who voluntarily go to dangerous areas and war-torn countries to give the free world an eyewitness account of the inhuman conditions and often very horrific events there. Without their courage and determination, we would often have no idea what atrocities are being committed around the world. (85%) (17.09.2022)