Starring: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ivanir, Goran Kostic
Directed By: Richard Shepard
Produced By: Bill Block, Paul Hanson (III), Adam Merims
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Thriller and War
Release Date: September 21st, 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for strong language and some violent content.
Distributors: MGM Distribution Company
“Only the most ridiculous parts of this story are true”
The Hunting Party is inspired by the true story of a disgraced war journalist (Richard Gere) who enlisted the help of his former cameraman (Terence Howard) and an wager, wet-behind-the-ears journalism major (Jesse Eisenberg) to track down an infamous war criminal still on the loose somewhere in the backwoods of Eastern Europe. - Official site
In The Hunting Party, Richard Shepard addresses the subject of the hunt for Bosnian war criminals in his own way. Almost a satire, but not quite going over the line, The Hunting Party toes that line with wit, drama, and carefully placed images of a war torn country that in some ways was just beginning to heal. Taking small jabs at NATO, The Hague and the CIA, Shepard brings the fact that these war criminals are running free and none of these agencies are trying very hard to catch them to the attention of mainstream moviegoers.
It may sound like this is a documentary, or that Shepard is preaching to us Michael Moore style, but he isn't. Shepard has taken very real people and real events and real situations, fictionalized them and injected the perfect amount of humor into them to create an entertaining as well as informative view of our governments practices. This is not to say that there isn't a serious side, as you can never show the true horror of war on any size screen and the opening sequence shows us that in a way that is brutal and sadly beautiful at the same time.
Shepard has a talent for wringing great performances from his cast and proves it once again with Richard Gere, Terence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg. Using humor to offset the violence and horror of war is a real practice and pulling it off in a movie without sliding into the land of cheese, or looking callous, is a talent that all three main actors did very well. Gere plays Simon Hunt as a man on a mission with an intensity that shines through in a few key scenes as well as showing how humor is used as a defense against the horrors of war. Terence Howard's Duck is the semi-straight man, using the phrase, “Unbelievable” more times than I can count in reaction to Gere's antics. Jesse Eisenberg plays Benjamin, the new kid, still wet behind the ears. It is through his eyes that we see the events unfold. Through the trials of the adventure that these three journalists take we see him change from the nervous rookie, to being a part of the group through his realization that it isn't a game.
I must stress once again, that this film was made as an entertainment piece first and foremost, but if it makes you question our government, then the movie has done more than it's job.
www.thehuntingpartymovie.com
Until we catch Osama,
keep reading
Mitch E
mitchemerson@hotmail.com
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