Rapt (2009)This is like other European crime movies I've seen, very detailed and low key, and seemingly very realistic. This one is like the others in that it's sort of interesting all along but rarely compelling. There is, in a weird way, no drama, not in movie terms. The facts are dramatic--kidnapping, torturing the hostage, that kind of thing--but the movie plays it all out in a realistic way that emphasizes police procedure, gentle conversations with loved ones left behind, and lots of waiting with the hostage takers being meanies.It's weird to belittle this movie because in a way it's really competent, even very good if this is what you want. Compared to American (Hollywood) kidnapping scenarios (that Mel Gibson movie comes to mind), this makes the Hollywood versions ridiculous. But at least the Hollywood intention to entertain, to create high drama, is fulfilled. Here, in "Rapt," we are not actually ever rapt (that is, suspended in some kind of riveted attention). If you sort of know this isn't your kind of movie, I'd skip it. If you do like very realistic crime films that are made with great attention and lots of empty spaces (at least psychically), then you might well really like this. In the details, I found the conversations between the family and cops trying to rescue him really dull and not quite believable, and I found the scenes where the hostage takers were roughing up the hostage too prolonged and unnecessary. This alone dragged the whole experience down. For me.It's worth noting that the movie scored many awards in France, and that the Rotten Tomatoes rating is really high for it. The IMDb rating seems more in line, to me, for now (about 6.7 at the time of this writing).

A kidnapping thriller that has a dark noir side, as well as an interesting look at wealth, politics and morality. Throw in a complex family drama and a deeply flawed main character, and you have a familiar situation raised into a well above average film. Visually sharp, suffused with an intense energy, even in the quiet scenes, the kidnapping of super wealthy industrialist Stanislas Graff opens a Pandora's box of questions about the man's lifestyle; his mistresses, his gambling debts, that leave his powerful 'friends' backing away from their desire to pay to get the man back, and makes his steadfast wife question the complacency with which she has accepted how things are. The film makes the very dark point that the kidnappers, while awful and terrifying, in some ways are more honest, direct and even human than the upper-class .1% of the world that Stanislas is usually surrounded by, and is part of himself. There are weaknesses. Some of it gets repetitive, and the ending is intentionally telegraphed (why?) and not very satisfying or thought provoking. Also, in attempting to deal with so many themes, ideas and story threads (cops, the business people, lawyers, the family, the kidnap victim, the kidnappers, etc there isn't much of a chance to really dig beneath the surface of all these very intriguing characters and ideas. Stanislas' daughters, for example, are pretty much ciphers.But still a very worthwhile trip into unsettled, disturbing and questioning darkness.

It would be difficult to find anything to change about this film. Often I'll watch a film and wonder how the heck could a film costing millions to make put in something so stupid. With this movie, it seemed almost perfect.I really disliked the daughters and mother after he got home. The guy soaking in the tub after 2 months being held captive and losing his finger and his wife coming in and telling him " we suffered too!!! do you know what we went through?!!!!". Really makes you want to slap the stupid out of her.To the guy wondering if he was going to kill himself. Absolutely no way. Did you miss the part at the end where his attorney told him several times how rich he was. The guy didn't GIVE his stock to the company...He SOLD the stock to them. So he surely could still pay the ransom.Whether he paid the ransom or not, and if he did pay it, did that leave him completely broke? ....is unknown..But, I think the ransom amount (20million) to be paid at "calypso" was exactly how much he was worth...The end point is that he basically lost everything - his job, his wife, his reputation...and assuming he paid the ransom - his wealth as well... So he was left with nothing other than himself alive...And probably feeling quite lucky to have that. It's all we really ever have for sure until we die...All the other stuff is just a bonus.

It is actually a thriller, a drama and a social film I am going to talk about. It is based on true facts: the kidnapping of an industry captain, in the 70's. A very rich, wealthy and arrogant billionaire is kidnapped and the story starts. Up to now, nothing really unusual. But the study of the characters is solid, breathtaking, all this helped by a great editing. The study of human behavior; the study of a rich man, master of everything around him, who discovers that his family, friends and business associates want, through this kidnapping affair, get rid of him, and this for different reasons ; the study of those friends, family and associates who will find out that the "boss" and family chief is actually a gambler, a playboy, a fancy SOB, nothing else. An empty human being. This movie is the study of the falling down of a man who, in another film, would have been shown as a hero. And a victim.A great film. Go and see it.