Sexyloutak
Absolutely the worst movie.
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Ginger
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
sergepesic
This movie might be based on the real kidnapping in 1978, but it fits perfectly our murky times. Greed without limits and boundaries produced a whole new species of semi sociopaths. Some of the most savvy and successful people in high business have morality of a Corsican thug. Perhaps they possess a tad more polish and fashion sense, but not much more. Mr. Graff, the victim of this heinous crime doesn't invoke much sympathy. He is vain, cruel and deeply immoral. Exactly what power executive needs. As soon his real nature comes out in press, his business "friends" turn their back on him. It is ironic that the only remotely kind character is one of the kidnappers. Possibly the one assigned the good cop role. Nevertheless this wealthy, affluent world encased in marble and gold, seems empty and void of any real felling. Nothing comes for free in this world, above all money and privilege.
filmalamosa
A rich businessman Graff (Yvan Attal) is kidnapped. Press publicity reveals all kinds of dirty laundry about him-- gambling debts, mistresses and so forth.His fortune is not enough to cover the kidnap ransom. Rivals in his business are not anxious to pay extra. Key players keep revealing to the police information from the kidnappers putting Graff's life in danger.He is finally released but finds no one sympathizes that much with his truly terrible ordeal instead demanding apologies for the skeletons revealed about his life.His business votes him out of the presidency his family becomes estranged.Yvan Attal is a terrific actor. I saw him in Anthony Zimmerman another fantastic movie....this one is at least as good.A must watch.
R. Ignacio Litardo
Stanislas is a man born with luck: rich in a rich country, beautiful wife and family, CEO of his family company, chauffeur, lives in a Parisian Palace. And yet, just one false step and he ends up kidnapped, humiliated, one finger cut off, beaten, starved, and most important, devoid of all power. We learn he led a double life, lovers from different countries, an apartment he used frequently, hunting trips and... game debts. Big debts. Does the kidnapping owe to his debtors? Or is it somebody from his own circle, wanting his post? Was it a self-kidnapping, as a means to erase his debts? As hypothesis multiply, doubts flourish in his own company and family circle, and issues start to come up to the surface.Well filmed, the contrast between "civilized" rich man's life and the gritty and humiliating treatment of the kidnappers is what stroke me most of this film. How easy it is to slip from one world to the next. It happens in the best of families, in the first world too.My favourite character is S.'s politically incorrect mum, Marjorie (elegant Françoise Fabian), usually saying what everybody thinks. Maître Walser is also fine. Françoise and her grouchy daughters are correctly hateful. You may like red setters (his dog's breed) a bit more now :).Good ending.Fellow IMDb reviewer "JRlock" wrote it well: "is not easy to capture both the sympathy and contempt of the viewer in the same movie, but he did here". And Chris Knipp's insights, like how Stanislas' freedom may be illusory, how this may be a film about solitude, or what the French title sounds like, have to be read from his own bright review to be enjoyed.Not easy watching, as you probably know already, but enlightening.
John Raymond Peterson
You may read the movie's official site's outline and the IMDb storyline/summary but you will never get a feel for what this motion picture is really about until you view it for yourself. The storyline is merely the backdrop to what is actually happening. French audiences are use to the kind of scenario and the subtle direction method of a Lucas Belvaux this movie clearly is stamped with, American audiences not as much. That does not mean American (North American that is) audiences won't 'get it' but it does imply many of you reading this review may be disappointed by the movie if what you were hoping to watch was another kidnapping for ransom movie, as advertised; that, it simply is not.In my opinion, the film is a work of art in the way the characters are brought to the audience, one thin layer at the time; there are many layers peeled away during the kidnapping for ransom in progress. Like the movie "Proof of Life", the story takes place over a long period of time, compared to most all other ransom movies; that is the first of many elements that make the picture feel so real. In order to achieve its goal, the real drama experienced by the key characters, the pace has to be slow at times so we can focus on the players. I could swear the director has studied magic; who knows, I did not bother to check.The movie ends most abruptly if you are not peeking at your watch. I felt short-changed for a minute after the movie ended before I realized the point of the movie was not at all what I had fooled myself in believing. Yes, it's true, many French movies, like this one, dare to make you think even after the movie is over. What you get is not what you see but what you look for. A celebrated French author wrote long ago "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away", and this movie says a whole lot with, relatively speaking, very little fanfare.At the end of the movie, I cursed it for a few seconds, then, rewinding it at warp speed in my mind, played it back in much the same manner over a nice cup of coffee; I concluded it was brilliant. Yvan Attal delivers, as usual, a flawless performance; it is not easy to capture both the sympathy and contempt of the viewer in the same movie, but he did here. What few action scenes are needed for the kidnapping story to unfold, the movie did not quibble and delivered. The way the movie ends will have you conjuring up several more scenes to suit your idea of what should have been the better ending, but there isn't a better more purposeful ending; that sort of thing reminded me of a style more popular in French movies of a few generations ago, but it is still effective today. Enough said; you know by now if it is the kind of movie for you.
