According
to the Oceans Beyond Piracy project, over 1,000 international seamen have been
held hostage by Somali pirates—roughly a third of whom were tortured and 62
died from a variety of causes. Yet, it sure is more convenient to cast the
pirates as victims of colonialism, globalism, capitalism, and generally mean old
westernism. However, films trying to advance that narrative have been less than
convincing, despite the quality of their execution. Sort of picking up where
Greenglass’s Captain Phillips left
off, Tommy Pallotta & Femke Wilting offer a personal and figurative defense
of high seas plunder in their animated hybrid documentary Last Hijack (trailer
here), which
screens today as a Convergence selection of the 52nd New York FilmFestival.
Former
pirate Muhamed Nura pulled off a few big hijackings and lived to talk about.
Unfortunately, he did not save any of his ransom money. Facing middle age with
little prospects, Nura decides to assemble a team for one last job. However,
times have changed and maritime security is much tighter. Everyone is against
his plan, including his stern mother and his vastly younger fiancée. Nonetheless,
he has no trouble lining up crew and financial backers.
Pallotta
and Wilting clearly invite sympathy for Somali pirates, trying to position them
as modern Jean Valjeans, but they bizarrely chose a distinctly unsympathetic
POV character. During his screen time, Nura emerges as a rather rash braggart,
who seems to have little concern for the consequences of his actions. Although
he is supposedly in hard fiscal straights, he has a new wife and a new
fixer-upper house, which does not look like such a bad situation.
In
contrast, radio talk show host and anti-piracy advocate Abdifatah Omar Gedi
cuts a more interesting (and more heroic) figure. During his on-camera
sequences, Gedi’s cell phone never stops ringing, constantly receiving calls
from strangers trying to determine his location. Frankly, viewers will quickly conclude
Pallotta and Wilting choose the wrong person to build their film around.
At
least, Nura’s hijacking exploits lend themselves to the animated bird of prey interludes
that incorporate Hisko Hulsing’s striking paintings. Their symbolically charged
look and feel recalls the vibe of Damian Nenow’s short Paths of Hate and select moments of the original Heavy Metal. They are effective, whereas
many of the straight forward doc segments are often a bit sluggish—snoozy even.
