Kidnapping Inc. is a 2024 crime comedy thriller film co-written and directed by Bruno Mourral in his directorial debut.Siddhant Adlakha, "‘Kidnapping Inc.’ Review: A Haitian Comedy-Thriller That Crashes and Burns". IndieWire, January 24, 2024. A co-production between Haiti, Canada and France, the film stars Jasmuel Andri and Rolaphton Mercure as Doc and Zoe, two low-level gangsters in Haiti who are assigned the task of transporting the kidnapped son of presidential candidate Benjamin Perralt (Ashley Laraque) to their boss's headquarters, only for the plan to go awry when they accidentally kill the victim, and must set out to abduct lookalike Patrick (Patrick Joseph) to cover their tracks.Vladan Petkovic, "Review: Kidnapping Inc.". Cineuropa, January 24, 2024.
The cast also includes Anabel Lopez as Audrey, the girlfriend of the murder victim who is trying to raise the ransom money, and Gessica Généus as Laura, Patrick's pregnant wife who was trying to get out of Haiti so that her child could be born in a safer and freer country but becomes a collateral tag-along to Patrick's kidnapping.Anthony Kaufman, "‘Kidnapping Inc.’: Sundance Review". Screen Daily, January 23, 2024.
Production Initial production on the film began in 2019, but had to shut down after just six weeks due to the political instability of Haiti at the time.Bill Brownstein, "Haitian filmmaker laughs to get through the horror". Montreal Gazette, September 27, 2024. The COVID-19 pandemic then prevented a return to production in 2020.Christopher Vourlias, "Art Imitates Life in Sundance-Bound Abduction Comedy ‘Kidnapping Inc.’ After Three Crew Members Held Hostage During Production". Variety, January 12, 2024.
When production was slated to resume in 2021, it was further briefly delayed by the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, but ultimately proceeded, only to then face an incident when three members of the film's crew were themselves kidnapped.
Shooting was ultimately completed in October 2021.
Distribution The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.Carlos Aguilar, "‘Kidnapping Inc.’ Review: Haitian Crime Comedy Blends Politics and Thrills to Middling Effect". Variety, January 23, 2024.
It had its Canadian premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival,Meagan Navarro, "Fantasia 2024 Adds Steven Kostanski’s ‘Frankie Freako!’ and More to Final Wave of Programming". Bloody Disgusting, July 3, 2024. and returned for the Montreal International Black Film Festival.Félix Poncelet-Marsan, "Bruno Mourral témoigne de l’insécurité à Haïti avec son premier film, « Kidnapping inc. »". Qui Fait Quoi, September 30, 2024.
Its French premiere took place at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival.Fabien Lemercier, "The hunt for the Valois d'Or is about to kick off in Angoulême". Cineuropa, August 20, 2024.
Critical response The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics.
Vladan Petkovic of Cineuropa was the most positive, writing that "the film is a succession of ultra-kinetic set pieces, alternating with rapid dialogue segments that are often almost as entertaining as the car chases, shootouts and occasional slapstick moments, some of which happen almost too fast to register. Among the multitude of jokes and gags, some are excellently timed and executed, while some fall flat – but maybe they will not for local audiences. As for the actors, Mercure shines with his comedic chops and Andri lends a more contemplative, even melancholy, air to the buddy aspect of the movie."
Siddhant Adlakha of IndieWire wrote that the film "lacks laughs, insight and personal ethos, thanks to its preoccupation with throwing as many half-formed jokes and soccer references onto the screen as possible. It never takes the time and care to carve them into something meaningful."
Writing for Variety, Carlos Aguilar opined that "any film from a country with as scarce an output as Haiti is cause for curiosity, especially since it’s not a subdued, social realist drama of the kind typically sourced from developing countries to pad festival lineups. On paper, the idea to address social inequality and the corrosion of institutions by way of a potentially crowd-pleasing work of entertainment is sound, even daring, and that’s why the fact that the film’s many elements don’t amalgamate is a shame."
Awards At Fantasia, the film won the audience gold medal for Best Quebec Film, over Hunting Daze (Jour de chasse) and Ababooned (Ababouiné).Jeremy Kay, "‘Bookworm’ wins 2024 Fantasia audience award for best international film". Screen Daily, August 6, 2024.
The film was selected as Haiti's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards,Denton Davidson, "2025 Oscars: Complete list of Best International Feature Film submissions". Gold Derby, October 3, 2024. but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. However, it was resubmitted as Haiti's entry for the following year, but it was not nominated.
It was named as best film of the Vevey International Funny Film Festival 2024."Un record pour le VIFFF" 24 heures, October 28, 2024.
See also List of Haitian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film List of submissions to the 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film List of submissions to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
References
External links