Cinema surveillance images are loading at the bottom of the page

Proof of life

Threat advisory: Guarded - General risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The huge number of multinational executives being abducted abroad has made organised kidnapping a big business. It has also spawned a counter-industry - getting them back - and a secret drama involving former spies and revolutionaries, AK-47s and armoured cars, helicopter drops and hideaways. - Adventures in the ransom trade by William Prochnau.

While constructing a dam in Tecala, a country located in the Andes, American Chief Engineer Peter Bowman (David Morse) is captured by anti-government forces during a raid on the capital city. When the rebels learn his identity they demand $3 million for his safe return. Peter's Houston-based employer, however, is on the verge of bankruptcy and has cancelled the kidnapping insurance policy and they cannot provide the money for his ransom.

Abandoned by the company, Peter's wife, Alice (Meg Ryan), must deal with it on her own. she retains the services of professional hostage negotiator Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), an Australian-born SAS veteran who over the past nine years has handled numerous high profile kidnappings, using every means at his disposal.

After an encouraging start, the negotiations deteriorate into a lengthy haggling session. During these discussions, Peter is moved from one remote guerilla camp high in the Andes down to another camp in the Amazonian jungle, suffering the most hellish physical and mental hardships. By rediscovering his love for Alice, and focusing on that positive image, he sustains his will to survive.

Meanwhile, the emotional stress of the kidnapping has taken its toll on Alice, magnifying the uneasiness that existed in their marriage before the abduction. Further complicating matters is Alice's guilty realisation of a growing fondness for Terry, her protector and her husband's potential saviour. Terry intuitively reciprocates and becomes frustrated and conflicted by his decidedly unprofessional feelings for her.

When they reach a breakdown in the negotiations for her husband's freedom, Terry devises a daring yet desperate plan with the help of a fellow negotiator Dino (David Caruso) and a trio of highly trained mercenaries, to mount a bold rescue operation.

Also starring Alun Armstrong, Wolframio Benavides as Honcho, Oscar Carrillo, Claudia Dammert, Michael Kitchen, Daniel Lugo, Norma Martínez, Aristóteles Picho, Pamela Reed as Janis Bowman, Vanessa Robbiano, Pietro Sibille and Mario Ernesto Sánchez. Written by Tony Gilroy, directed by Taylor Hackford.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film South America thriller kidnap romance soldier rebel recovery jungle

Cinematic intelligence sources

Proof of life official movie site
Studios and distributors:

Warner Bros * Roadshow Films

Intelligence analyst

Secret Agent Acid Thunder

Theatrical report

First off, I reckon that the whole Meg and Russell romance was just a marketing ploy, the same as the "Julia wants Brad" gossip that's doing the rounds just before their new film (The Mexican) is released rather than six months ago when the events were happening. That's one more good thing about living down under: there's a whole lot of time between hype in the USA and the filmic photons actually bouncing off the screen.

Having said that, Proof of life is an absolute snot factory.

I was really looking forward to another (Gladiator) action-packed Russell Crowe spectacular but what I encountered was a manifestation of faecal matter. Having seen Almost famous last week, I thought that Hollywood was onto a new kind of filmmaking. Wrong. The best that can be hoped for is that the studio executives will someday learn from their mistakes.

Some more tits and ass would've made me appreciate the story more, but not much. Wait until it comes out on TV as the movie of the week.

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Ah, it's not that bad. Not that it's a great work of art, or any kind of art, but it does fill the gap if you've got a hankering for mindless violence, men running around in the jungle, men in uniform, men with guns, men fighting, men killing...

There was no reason to have the Alice/Terry romance as it did nothing to advance the plot or expose their characters. Perhaps it's a bit of James Bond envy where the hero always gets the girl. Nah, they couldn't be that shallow, could they?

The shooting stuff gets pretty loud, perhaps because the talking stuff is so quiet. This is probably a ploy on the part of the filmmakers to make the action seem more overwhelming. When I say ploy I really mean underhanded trick. If you need to fiddle with the film after it's finished then you shouldn't have finished filming.

If you don't expect anything great from Proof of life then you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Media intelligence (DVD)

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Picture: Widescreen 16:9
Languages: English, Spanish, Italian
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Greek, Czech, Turkish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Croatian, Italian captions
Cast and crew
Commentary by Taylor Hackford
Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Taylor Hackford
Behind-the-scenes documentary: The making of "Proof of life"