Deadly Voyage - flotsam of death
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Deadly Voyage - flotsam of death |
| Original title | Deadly Voyage |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1996 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Mackenzie |
| script | Stuart Urban |
| production |
John Goldschmidt , Bradley Adams |
| music | John Scott |
| camera | Dick Pope |
| cut | Graham Walker |
| occupation | |
| |
Deadly Voyage is an American television movie from 1996 . The film was directed by John Mackenzie and written by Stuart Urban . The film was produced by Union Pictures and Viva Films for BBC Films and HBO Films . It tells the true story of Kingsley Ofosu, the only survivor of a group of nine sneakers who were discovered aboard the cargo ship MC Ruby in 1992 and subsequently murdered by members of the crew .
action
During the unloading of the cargo ship MC Ruby in the port of New York, six sneakers jump out of a container and land. There they are stopped and arrested by dock workers and the police. The Ukrainian crew of the ship watched the scene with amusement. However, the ship's captain and first officer , Ion Plesin, are annoyed when they know that the shipping company will have to pay heavy fines for illegal immigrants. Andreas Vlachos, a representative of the shipping company, comes on board as a result of the incident in New York. He warns the ship's crew that they will be held responsible if such a case occurs again. The next voyage of the ship, which goes back to Africa, he stays on board.
Later the MC Ruby lies in a port in Ghana to load cocoa. Kingsley Ofosu works there, and he makes plans to sneak aboard a ship in order to build a better life for himself and his pregnant wife in the United States . When he wins the lottery, he decides to put his plan into action. He wants to use the money from the lottery winnings as start-up capital.
Ofosu, his brother and six other men hide in the ship's hold . Before the ship leaves, Plesin only has an hour to search the ship for sneaking in. Ofosu and his people are not found during the hasty search and the ship leaves the port with destination Le Havre and New York .
Ofosu's group found another sneak on board, a man from Cameroon . The men cheerfully discuss their plans for their new life in the United States. When their water tank broke later, they were forced to leave the hold in search of water. In doing so, they leave traces that are discovered by the ship's crew. In order to prevent Vlachos from finding out that the search for sneakers had failed before leaving port, the captain has his first officer put together a small crew that thoroughly searches the ship again. The sneakers are found in the hold.
Then Plesin and the captain discuss the situation. Since the shipping company will hold them responsible for fines, the sneakers are not allowed to be on board when entering the next port. On the other hand, they cannot change the course of the ship in order to disembark elsewhere, as Vlachos would find out.
Plesin and his search team lock the sneakers in the chain locker without food or water. When they want to fight back, Plesin shows little sympathy for their motivation to escape poverty in their home countries. He replies that he and his people would be fired if the Africans were found and they earn even less than Ofosu as dock workers in Ghana in the Ukraine .
Yuri, one of the search team, feels sorry for the Africans. He secretly brings them water, but cannot do more. While the sneakers suffer, Ofosu regrets leading the group to their death.
The ship's captain agrees with Plesin's plan to kill the sneakers. Plesin and his people take the sneakers out of the chain case in small groups. Then the Africans are killed and the bodies thrown overboard. Yuri tries to prevent this, but is overwhelmed by the other men. Ofosu and his brother are the last to be fetched. But since they suspect what would happen, they try to escape by running away in different directions. Plesin's people shoot Ofosu's brother and eventually throw him overboard. Ofosu, who has to see this, escapes and hides again in the hold. If you search for him again, he will not be found. Plesin's people are concerned that they have not found the sneak, but believe they can arrest him in port if he tries to get off the ship.
After the ship moored in Le Havre at night, Ofosu seized the opportunity and escaped via the hold ventilation system. Before that, he hides a photo of himself and his wife in one of the cocoa sacks. He ends up on land and escapes to the police before Plesin's people reach him.
The next day, officials appear on board the MC Ruby to check Ofosu's statements. Plesin initially denies having sneaked in on board, but the officials search the hold and find Ofosu's picture, which he had hidden in one of the cocoa sacks. Plesin eventually admits to killing the sneakers, but argues that he and his people did France a favor by preventing the unwanted Africans from entering the country illegally. Plesin and his people, as well as the ship's captain, are arrested.
The film ends with Ofosus talking to his wife on the phone during which he hears his newborn son crying. He suggests giving him the name of his murdered brother.
In the epilogue of the film the result of the court hearing against those involved in the ship's crew can be read in the real case: the captain and first officer were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Three other crew members were each sentenced to 20 years in prison, and another was acquitted. Kingsley Ofosu lives in France and hopes that his wife and son can join them. The characters in the movie don't directly correspond to the real people involved and the names have been changed.
production
When the trial of the case made international headlines, various film producers tried to get the rights to the story of Ofosu. The rights eventually went to Union Pictures and Viva Films, who produced the film with funding from BBC Films and HBO Films.
The screenplay for the film was written by Stuart Urban, who primarily used interviews with Ofosu. Urban was also slated to direct the film, but was replaced by John Mackenzie when he fell ill. The film was shot in England and Ghana.
John Goldschmidt, the producer of the film, mentioned that shooting in Ghana was a particular challenge, as the weather was extremely hot and humid and several people involved in the shooting fell ill with malaria or diarrhea. There were also a lot of logistical problems, as there was no infrastructure for such a film shoot in Ghana. So the film should initially be shot in South Africa , a country that would be used more often as a location for films set in Africa. However, for the sake of authenticity, it was decided to shoot in Ghana, and this could also be seen in the finished film.
Omar Epps , who played Kingsley Ofosu in the film, spoke a little more positively about his experience in Ghana. He was able to spend a lot of time with Ofosu to prepare for the role and learned some twi in the process .
In 2006 Ofosu expressed doubts that Union Pictures had paid him adequately. According to his own statements, he received USD 67,500 . However, this was based on an estimate of the cost of production, of which he should get 1.5%. He never got a breakdown of actual production costs to see if he was entitled to more money. Furthermore, he should have a share of 10% of the net income that the film brought in. He did not receive this money either. Bradley Adams as co-producer referred to HBO and the BBC, neither of which he would ever have received a statement of income or production costs.
reception
Newspapers mostly wrote positively about the film. The Los Angeles Times described the film as "terrifyingly realistic". The New York Times, however, called the film "not a good movie" in which most of the characters are "little more than stick figures." The film would still be "harrowing" and allow a "deep look into human cruelty". The achievements of Epps and Pertwee, who embodied the two main characters in the film, were highlighted.
Others
The film was released as a VHS video in 1996 and first shown on German television in 1998 on RTL II .
Web links
- Deadly Voyage - flotsam of death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Nick Davies: The cruellest voyage , The Guardian , December 3, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ↑ a b I cry when I see this film , The Telegraph , October 12, 1996. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ^ A b John J. O'Connor: 9 African Stowaways And a Homicidal Crew , The New York Times , June 14, 1996. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ↑ Howard W. Frensh: Into Africa to Tell An Unlikely Tale Of Survival , The New York Times, January 14, 1996. Accessed September 29, 2014.
- ^ Bradley Adams: What happened after Deadly Voyage , The Guardian, December 6, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ↑ Don Heckmann: An Unspoken Irony in Violent 'Voyage' , Los Angeles Times , June 15, 1996. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ↑ Deadly Voyage , Filmlexikon two thousand and one . Retrieved September 30, 2014.