The Hunting Party (2007)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Richard Shepard

Writers (WGA):

Richard Shepard (written by)
Scott Anderson (article)

Release Date:

14 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

How can they find the world's most wanted war criminal when the C.I.A. can't? [by actually looking]

Plot:

A young journalist, a seasoned cameraman and a discredited war correspondent embark on an unauthorized mission to find the no...

Plot Keywords:

Bosnia | CIA | Hunt | War Criminal | Journalist

Cast

Terrence Howard	...	Duck
Richard Gere	...	Simon Hunt
Gordana Vukres	...	Girl at Awards Ceremony
James Brolin	...	Franklin Harris
Sanela Seferagic	...	Sexy Assistant
Damir Saban	...	Gert
Aleksandra Grdic	...	TriBeCa Loft Girl
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Benjamin Strauss
John W. Falk	...	Journalist #1
Scott Anderson	...	Journalist #2
Harald Doornbos	...	Journalist #3
Philippe Deprez	...	Journalist #4
Erich Rathfelder	...	Journalist #5
Zan Marolt	...	Journalist #6
Ljubomir Kerekes	...	The Fox

Also Known As:

Lov u Bosni (Croatia)
Proljece u Bosni (Bosnia and Herzegovina: Croatian title) (working title)
Spring Break in Bosnia (USA) (working title)
A Caçada (Brazil) [pt]
Av partisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Corresponsales en peligro (Argentina) [es]
Eglimatias polemou (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Hunting Party - Wenn der Jäger zum Gejagten wird (Germany) [de]
La búsqueda (Mexico) [es]
Rókavadászat (Hungary) [hu]
The hunting party - I cacciatori (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and some violent content.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA | Croatia | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Language:

English | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA (2007) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:14 | Iceland:12 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Duga Resa, Croatia

Company:

Intermedia

Trivia:

The book named ''A Short History of the Bosnian Conflict'' which was thrown away in the bar scene, is a fake prop one.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The UN mission ended in 20 December 1995 when NATO took over (IFOR/SFOR). In 2000 there should have been SFOR flags instead of the UN flags, SFOR patches, not UN and no blue berets. Military vehicles should have their national camouflage painting and SFOR markings. This is for NATO/SFOR details. The UN Mission (UNMIBH) was still active during the time this film depicts and the UNMIBH personnel and equipment are accurate - specifically the blue berets and UN vehicles for the UN International Police Task Force personnel in Foca.

Quotes:

Simon: Laugh at all their jokes. Whatever you do, don't stare at the midget

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek" (1966)

Soundtrack:

I Fought the Law

One-shot deal

Not a bad movie, but a little superficial and unrealistic at times. A couple of "journo" types become drawn into hunting a despicable war criminal by an old guard reporter who tries to appeal to their sense of adventure. It's almost cliché-ish nowadays to have a given film's central characters drawn into some unlikely foray on the basis of living life dangerously or you're not living at all, as opposed to doing the right thing, period, whether danger lurks or not. Terence Howard's character's choice between doing the subject hunt or going to Greece to philander about with some narcissistic honey seems rather puerile and gimmicky, as if the Hollywood boys were in a hurry to inject some sexual content into the film as an added box-office draw.

When the three decide to pursue the purported villain, who is guarded by his loyal minions so closely in a territory loaded with sympathizers, they go about it in such a way that draws obvious attention to themselves. They could have easily been sniped to death at the first bar they stopped at in enemy territory and the movie would have ended. But they got lucky because the script writer/director, etc. let 'em live and the film marched on.

Aside from that, the plot/story line takes off in an entertaining fashion and the three major protagonists show their more than adequate thespian skills by combining dramatic and comedic flair to a given situation. The aforementioned T. Howard is the pivotal guy in this story, as he skillfully and diplomatically keeps the link among the three from going "threadbare". His and Mr. Gere's fluid usage of the Sebian/Slavic language is also a welcome addition to this modern day saga. It's refreshing to see strangers in a foreign land give proper respect to their hosts by being considerate enough to speak the native tongue and feel the culture, as opposed to keeping interpreters around them like a bunch of weekend tourists.

All in all, a decent film, but for viewing purposes, pretty much a one-shot deal.