The Rozen is en route to Mumbai when the weapons-toting Somalis overtake the ship and its seven-man crew. Writer/director Tobias Lindholm doesn't utilize the captain as our viewpoint, but the cook, Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk, TV's The Borgias), a nice man who makes a mean omelet.
The other half of A Hijacking gets inside the head of the company's CEO, Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling of the recent Oscar-nominated A Royal Affair), as he is advised through the delicate process of negotiating with dirt-poor terrorists who have nothing to lose. Unlike American movies, this man of millions is presented as someone who puts the interests of his employees above those of his net worth.
As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, we see how the situation takes its tortured toll on both men — physically, mentally and emotionally — even if only one has a gun to his head. Lindholm's approach is methodical and almost documentarian in how unshowy his camera is, yet often quite intense. That he denies viewers a scene of catharsis would be problematic if not for Asbæk and Malling's strong performances. —Rod Lott
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