The Pirates Of Somalia

Journalism can bring us deeper into the real world. Things we did not know happened, can be shown in a completely truthful way through journalism. Of course, there are journalists that will tell lies to sell newspapers, but i believe most serious journalists are doing what they can to tell true stories. Through history we have seen many shocking revelations, that hard working journalists have brought forward. One of the stories that i will never forget, is when the Boston news paper The Boston Globe, published a story through the Spotlight team, about the Catholic Church protecting child molesters within the church. This made headlines all over the world, and the Catholic Church tried to do everything they could to cover up all the bad publicity. It was very important that The Boston Globe revealed the truth, even if they knew there would be many people within the Catholic Church would protest the publicity. There are plenty of other big stories that many journalists have worked hard on, to try and show the world how cruel this world can be. Perhaps some of you remember the hijacking of MV Maersk Alabama, where Somalian pirates took over the container ship in 2008 ? I remember following live reports on CNN and on Sky News, as Captain Philips and his crew had to try and survive. Somalian pirates were now known worldwide, after the hijacking MV Maersk Alabama. A film was made, based on the story of this container ship. The film is called Captain Philips, with a really good performance from actor Tom Hanks and actor Barkhad Abdi. The film really tried to give us a very interesting view on what happened on board the MV Maersk Alabama container ship, and how the Somalian pirates operated to get their demands. A film you should see, if you enjoy seeing films based on true stories. I recently read about another film, based on a true story of Somalian pirates, when Canadian journalist Jay Bahadur decided to risk everything and go down to Somalia and write a book on Somalian pirates. This did of course sound interesting, knowing this actually happened back in 2009. With an interesting cast, and a director i have never heard of, i decided to give this film a chance. Is this true story a very fascinating look inside the Somalian people´s lives, or is this just a cash in story with nothing interesting to say ?

Jay Bahadur ( Evan Peters ) is a young man, working hard to become a serious journalist. So far, no one seems to take his work serious. So he have to make a decision, to do something no one would expect him to do. He decides to go to Somalia, to write on a book about Somalian pirates. So he gather the money he needs, and head down to Somalia through connections on a Somalian radio station he have contacted. In Somalia, he is given his own personal guide and translator named Abdi ( Barkhad Abdi ). Jay wants to meet with the most dangerous leaders, to make sure he gets an interview with them. Abdi warns Jay, that he should not expect to get all the interviews, unless he is willing to pay them with drugs. Jay have no other option, he will give them what they need, as long as he gets his interviews. The journey across Somalia, is filled with a lot of risks and threats. 

Since i have never read the story behind journalist Jay Bahadur, i watched this film not knowing much of his background. You do find out how he got so interested in going to Somalia to write a story about Somalian pirates. And i have to say, it must have been a very difficult decision, to know that he would risk his own life going into a country with so many problems. The film does try and tell the story from Jay´s perspective, how he experience the life in Somalia, and how pirates operate in this area. I don´t know how much of the film happened in reality, but i feel that the story is interesting. The film does trip out sometimes into some odd dream sequences, and also include some animation. These parts don´t feel like they really needed to be in the film. Perhaps there is a reason to why these scenes were chosen to be included into the film. Like they would make a different impact within the story of Jay Bahadur. For me personally, i don´t feel that these scenes were needed to be included. I will say though that the lead role of actor Evan Peters ( probably known for his performances in X-Men: Days Of Future Past and X-Men : Apocalypse ) actually works pretty good. It is not a performance that would win any awards, but i still feel he does a pretty good job portraying journalist Jay Bahadur. My favourite performance in this film is from actor Barkhad Abdi as the personal guide for Jay, named Abdi. He gives this film a realistic view on how life is in a different culture, in a far away country. Nice to see legendary actors Al Pacino and Melanie Griffith in this film as well, in smaller roles. They don´t get that much screen time unfortunately. Director Bryan Buckley have directed a couple of feature films in the past, and i have not seen any of his film so far. I would say that he have made a film, that feels very divided. The drama surrounding Jay Bahadur works for the most part, while some details are not told as deep as we could have hoped for. The Pirates Of Somalia is a film that does bring up some important issues, of how Somalian pirates operate and how they function. Even if this film does have some problems, i still feel that this is a film that might give you an interesting view on Somalian pirates. Worth a watch, if you enjoyed Captain Philips. One thing is clear, i am not going fishing in Somalia.

Rating: DDD