Admittedly I am Swiss. This fact shall, however, not influence my review of this Swiss made movie. First of all, the basic events upon which the movie is based are known among the Swiss population. Nevertheless, what really happened remains hidden and is known only to the people who were involved. The movie tries to accommodate different perspectives, namely the one of the two hostages themselves, and the one of the general public - represented by the media in the movie.
Now let's get to the review: We follow the young Swiss couple Daniela and David, who are on their way back from Pakistan to Switzerland, after having spent month's travelling in a camper van. When they take a detour through a rather remote region, and when there is no police escort provided for "5 minutes" of the way, it happens. They first land in the hands of criminals, who then sell them to the Taliban, where we are to spend our time together with them in captivity.
The movie is truly intense, and I found it to be highly atmospheric. The places, and especially the protagonists - here mainly Pashtun tribesmen and Taliban - look and act very authentic. The actors perform solid - I especially liked Sven Schelker portraying David Och, Siddhant Karnick as Nazarjan and Kunal Kapoor as Lala. The music adds a great deal of atmosphere too, and the attack of the Pakistan Army on one of the places, where the couple is held hostage, is just thrilling. Therefore, in general the movie is rather a nail biter.
Not only are we engaging in a hostage situation, but also in a clash of different traditions here. I can highly recommend the film and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. 8/10.
