"The Hunting Party" (2007) - Movie Review

“The Hunting Party” opens with a text announcement that the ridiculous part of the film is based on true story and that’s what exactly happens. As the possibility of an event is put into question, we are reminded of that and we automatically smirk. This borderline handling of a dark comical satire with true events gives the film a much original look and a deeper saddening humour as well in the end. With beautiful locations of the mountains and woods with the dark remembrance in the post war city of Sarajevo, this is one of better films. But well, it has problems too.

The film stemmed from an article written by an American journalist Scott Anderson in “Esquire” magazine in October 2000 about his and four other journalists hunting for an interview with the war criminal Radovan Karadžić during the Bosnian War happened 1992-95. Here though changed upon to give better understanding and a dark comic thriller, it tells the story through the voice of Duck (Terrence Howard) who worked as a cameraman along with Simon Hunt (Richard Gere). They covered war zones and they liked the thrill of it as he says. An emotional breakdown causes Hunt to explode on national television expelling him out of the scenario. Five years later, Duck returns with an intern/rookie Network Vice President’s son Benjamin (Jesse Eisenberg) meets drunk and broke Hunt who promises of great story, which is to get an interview of a war criminal called The Fox (Ljubomir Kerekeš). The adventure begins in which we also come to know the real picture about the International Community in finding this person.

What works best in the film is the dynamics between these three characters. Quite unbelievable to see the young blood jumping off with fear but the “ridiculous” factor helps in it. Some where with that line, the Hollywood churning of entertainment kicks in to accept those discrepancies and mainly that the character works on it to make it maturing along with this thrill seeking veterans in the trade. Gere is smooth even in his ruthlessness and Howard as his subordinate who is now been soaked in the suns of luxury while misses the adventure is afraid of it too. I have no clue why his girl friend in Greece played by Joy Bryant is needed at all. Same with the character of the lost love Marda (Kristina Krepela) in the war for Hunt because the purpose for him to go on Fox does not need a personal attachment. The horrors of war he has witnessed and being an extreme thrill seeker is good enough to go after him.

With that good portion of 10 minutes being eliminated, the rest is truly impressive. The danger these guys take are real which happens in those war zones and the journalists who seek to reach out for these places. In a way, they are like the X-treme sports person only that the dangers are from bullets than a rock or a glacier. Even when the ending nears and I was wishing they do not take a conventional thriller climax, they take it but announce it with the factor of abnormality accepting it as an urban legend or a good finish one might expect. Lest, leaving some one to be killed by people is not an ending to be passed upon.

The camera work by David Tattersall which needs to play as a journalist itself in reporting the status of the story works in both covering a story and a film as well. There is an astonishing amount of villainous comic which surprisingly is good to make us laugh at these ridiculous situations, Hunt and his gang puts through. It some time reminded me of Guy Ritchie film making on content basis. Mostly because the characters these guys encounter resembles them.

In a totally unknown territory when they enter a bar and see the people cold in their eyes, the wrong men at wrong place and at definitely wrong time rings upon continuously in our ears. And we see Hunt playing it cool with concealed fear inside him which takes that scene to a land mine situation. Similarly there are numerous scenes which are edgy as thriller and gives chill at times to realize the reality in it.

The final message though might be taken as a cover up for an entertainment but the political satire involved appeals more as a fact. It still happens over in catching up of various war criminals. As Duck says to Benjamin on the break down of Hunt, it never is what you see. The video might bring the vision, sound and some times the emotion but the time frame it cuts to give the slice of the situation is never the situation.