Sequestro goes undercover to show Sao Paulo’s Anti Kidnap force in full swing
12 September, 2010Over the course of four years Jorge Atalla and his crew followed the Sao Paulo Anti Kidnap Police Force. The result is Sequestro, a documentary which has begun getting great reviews upon initial international screenings in New York and Los Angeles. One of the big selling points of the documentary is the amount of access the documentary crew were given, they ride along to locate captive hostages, listen in on phone calls, observe victims, face the criminals and accompany the inspectors; they truly are along for the ride.
Here is an excerpt from The Hollywood Reporter’s review: (which can be read in full HERE)
Brazilian filmmaker Jorge W. Atalla begins with terrifying understatement: As we stare at a black screen, a kidnapper squawks threats at his victim’s family in a high-pitched fake voice that would be comic if the speaker weren’t threatening, “you’ll get your father back in pieces.” Atalla will follow this case through to its resolution, checking in with the frightened family during the film as they wait out the tedium of negotiation. We see first-hand how kidnappers terrorize the public by being in no hurry to name or receive their ransom.
This is Jorge Atalla’s second full-length documentary following In Cane For Life (A Vida Em Cana), looking at the lives of sugarcane workers in Jaú, Brazil. It can be viewed on Youtube HERE.
Here’s another except from a review, this time from Variety (read in full HERE):
Two of the film’s better moments are far less dramatic: One is an officer’s explanation of how one kidnap case was cracked — it’s standard police-procedural stuff, but it also offers the sort of look inside the investigate process the film could have used more of. The other moment is the very moving release of a traumatized hostage; he doesn’t seem to notice the cameras, but then, no one does: Atalla and his crew were either considered too insignificant to matter, given the high drama they were recording, or they pulled off some kind of a docu-disappearing act. Either way, the footage will ensure a captive audience.
Here is the trailer for the film:
More info:
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