Mekong Rush - Run for your life
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Mekong Rush - Run for your life |
| Original title | River |
| Country of production | Canada , Laos |
| original language | English , French , Lao , Thai / Tai languages |
| Publishing year | 2015 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jamie M. Dagg |
| script | Jamie M. Dagg |
| production | Nicholas Sorbara |
| music | Troum |
| camera | Adam Marsden |
| cut | Duff Smith |
| occupation | |
| |
Mekong Rush - Run for your life (original title River ) is a Canadian - Lao thriller directed by Jamie M. Dagg . The film premiered on September 15, 2015 in the Discovery Section at the Toronto International Film Festival and was shown in selected Canadian cinemas from March 11, 2016. River was released in US cinemas on June 24, 2016 . The film title is signed with run for your life (in German with Renn um dein Leben ).
action
The American doctor John Lake volunteers for an NGO in a village in southern Laos . So that he can relax a little and collect himself again, he is instructed to vacation for a few days on a nearby island located downstream. After an evening in a bar where John drank a lot of alcohol, he watches on the way home how a young Laotian woman is apparently raped. While trying to help her, he kills her attacker in a scuffle. His body is pulled out of the Mekong the next day .
All evidence suggests that it was John who killed the man, especially his wallet, which he lost during the fight. John is charged with the murder and, during interrogation, quickly realizes what nightmare he will face once the local authorities arrest him. In addition, the man he killed was the son of an Australian senator. John knows that he has to somehow get to the US embassy in Vientiane , the capital of Laos, and escapes without hesitation. When he finally reached the embassy, he was told that he could only be given legal assistance. John tries somehow to leave the country and get to Thailand , but to do this he has to cross the Mekong, the river that separates the two countries.
production
Staff and cast
It is the feature film debut of Jamie M. Dagg, who directed the film and also wrote the screenplay. Before that, Dagg wrote and directed several short films. Adam Marsden was hired by Dagg as a cameraman. Duff Smith did the editing .
.jpg)
According to his own statements, Dagg was asked by his producer Nicholas Sorbara if he would like to work on a feature film. Dagg had a script that he had written years earlier but had to be completely reworked for a feature film. Dagg spent several months doing this. Sorbara later introduced him to a Lao-American woman who was born in Los Angeles but had lived in Laos for the past few years . After showing her a draft, Sorbara agreed to finance the film. Although Laos has developed its own film culture and the country also produces its own films, Dagg says that Laos is also increasingly trying to become interesting for foreign productions, even if the infrastructure for this is still in its infancy. Even if Daggs film was financed entirely with Canadian funds, it needed the support of the local government. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party has ruled the one-party state there since it came to power in 1975. Laos has had a constitution and a parliament since 1991. The legislation in Laos is not considered to be very consistent, however, and legal security is largely lacking there.
Rossif Sutherland , son of Donald Sutherland , stars as John Lake in the film. Douangmany Soliphanh took on the role of a character Dagg also named Douangmany. Sara Botsford plays Dr. Stephanie Novella, and Ted Atherton played Patrick Reardon. The head of the Lao Police Department was portrayed by Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy . The actor Vithaya Pansringarm can be seen in the film as a bartender. Other roles were cast with Laotian actors.
Filming
.jpg)
The shooting took place in Laos , partly also in the capital Vientiane , but mostly on an island, and lasted five months. Dagg had been to Laos several times before, so he knew of some suitable locations for the film. The production company Apocalypse Laos was involved in the shooting on location. However, the shooting was made difficult by the Laotian authorities, who had previously had little experience with foreign film teams. Dagg said these pushed him to change some things in the film. So it was not right for them to be shown a woman who drinks alcohol. Nor did they want the rapist in the film to be a French citizen, because the Laotian government has very close ties with France. Therefore, Dagg made him the son of an Australian senator in the film. Even if the Laotian government was not portrayed in the best light in the film, Dagg said, the authorities had no objections to this. Harry Windsor of The Hollywood Reporter believes River could be the first North American film to be shot in Laos. Sean Kelly of Toronto Film Scene shares this view.
Dagg describes the Mekong , to which the film already refers in its title, as a murky, dark river, the bottom of which cannot be seen and from which an oppressive atmosphere emanates. The water around some islands in South Asia, such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, is crystal clear. For some recordings, people therefore visited Thailand , which, according to the director, was also much more used to foreign productions that were shot there. The Mekong stretches for 1,898 kilometers in Laotian territory and also forms the border with Thailand and Myanmar. Also because of the river, Laos has a tropical climate with high temperatures.
publication
The film premiered on September 15, 2015 in the Discovery Section at the Toronto International Film Festival , where it was heralded as one of the most resolute thrillers of the year. Elevation Pictures took over the distribution of the film . As of March 11, 2016, River was shown in select Canadian theaters and was released in US theaters on June 24, 2016. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Germany on August 26, 2016 .
reception
Reviews
The film was able to convince 85 percent of the critics of Rotten Tomatoes (of 13 critics in total, as of October 9, 2017).
Variety's Ben Kenigsberg says the second half of the film creates more tension than the first, and believes this is partly due to the fascination with the procedural details of international law enforcement.
Harry Windsor from The Hollywood Reporter is enthusiastic about Sutherland, who looks extremely battered in the film and is getting noticeably thinner by the minute until he almost looks like a skeleton.
Awards
Whistler Film Festival 2015
- Award for Best Director of a Borsos Film ( Jamie M. Dagg )
- Award for the best script in a Borsos film (Jamie M. Dagg)
- Award with the Borsos Award for Canadian Best Feature Film (Jamie M. Dagg)
- Award for Best Debut Feature Film
- Nomination for Best Actor ( Rossif Sutherland )
Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival 2016
- Winner of the Jury Award for Best Director - International Film (Jamie M. Dagg)
Whistler Film Festival 2016
- Award as Best Director in the Borsos Competition (Jamie M. Dagg)
- Award for the best script in the Borso Competition (Jamie M. Dagg)
- Award with the Borsos Award for Canadian Best Feature Film
Canadian Cinema Editors Awards 2016
- Received the Canadian Cinema Editors Award for Best Editing of a Feature Film ( Duff Smith )
Web links
- Mekong Rush - Run for your life in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Mekong Rush - Run for your life in the German dubbing file
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Mekong Rush - Run for your life . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 159184 / K).
- ↑ a b Ben Kenigsberg: Toronto Film Review: 'River'. Rossif Sutherland goes on the run from Laotian authorities in Canadian helmer Jamie Dagg's debut thriller. In: Variety, September 21, 2016.
- ↑ a b c d Interview: Director Jamie M. Dagg Discusses Filming in Laos for River ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: gotchamovies.com, October 8, 2015.
- ↑ a b Harry Windsor: 'River': TIFF Review In: The Hollywood Reporter, September 15, 2015.
- ↑ Sean Kelly: The Capacity for Violence: Director Jamie M. Dagg and Actor Rossif Sutherland talk about River ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: thetfs.ca, March 11, 2016.
- ↑ River ( Memento of the original from September 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: tiff.net. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ↑ River In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ↑ Kristy Mitchell: It's a Wrap! ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Whistler Film Festival Blog, Dec 9, 2015.
- ↑ Academy Special Awards In: academy.ca. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
