Shown in FeckenOdeon 2 on 9th May, 2014
If you ever wanted to experience what it would be like to be held hostage by a band of desperate and dangerous high-seas buccaneers as they brandish automatic weapons with careless abandon, then this is probably as close as you will ever get, or want to get.
For those whose idea of a pirate is Captain Jack Sparrow – or Long John Silver... or Captain Pugwash, for that matter – this real-life account will be a rude awakening as it presents the real present day thing. British docudrama specialist Paul Greengrass is at the top of his craft here - nervous handheld cameras, grainy cinematography, a mostly anonymous cast, and a tension-drenched situation - to re-create the 2009 attempt to hijack an American cargo ship. Lean-and-hungry members of the world’s under-class - a ragtag, brazenly opportunistic band of young Somali men - stage their attack as if pulling off a smash-and-grab at a jewellery store. After that, it's full steam ahead and no turning back.... you have been warned!
The real thing...
Of course this is based on an actual event where the real Captain Phillips was captured by Somali pirates but it’s doubtful if the movie is completely faithful to the actual story. Fellow crew members on the Maersk Alabama have poured cold water on the idea of Phillips as a hero. After the hijacking, 11 crew members sued Maersk Line and the Waterman Steamship Corp. for almost $50 million, alleging “wilful, wanton and conscious disregard for their safety.” “The crew had begged Captain Phillips not to go so close to the Somali coast,” said Deborah Waters, the attorney who brought the claim. “He told them he wouldn’t let pirates scare him or force him to sail away from the coast.” Some of the crew allege that Phillips was verging on insane and welcomed the attack almost as a means of suicide. Phillips was hailed as a hero after his rescue by a nation that has a record of hero worship and now we have this film - fiction is sometimes stranger than truth!
The facts about Somali piracy...
Somali piracy rose to prominence after a huge spike in ship hijacks in 2009 (when this film is set), with more than 163 ships attacked and 46 boarded by pirates. The ‘trade’ soon boomed as the Somali pirates realized that they could make huge sums of money from ransoms paid by the ships’ owners. At one point, the ransom demands averaged at around $5.4 million. And the delays and damages were costing the maritime industry around €7 billion-a-year. The European Union Naval Force Somalia, also known as EU-NAVFOR-ATALANTA, was set up in late 2008 with the aim of escorting merchant vessels in the area. More than 20 EU countries have participated in the mission and the problem has been much reduced with only 3 attacks recorded in 2013. However one ship, the FV Naham 3, and 28 crew members are still being held hostage, as are another 26 sailors captured from other ships.
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