Four Days in September Details

Impressive, subtle kidnap drama

I saw this film in a Portugese version with English subtitles. It is based on a real event in Brazil in 1969, when the US ambassador was kidnapped by a left-wing group, demanding the release of their tortured comrades by the ruling dictatorship. It is a thoughtful account which explores the motivations of the perpetrators and the tensions between them in some depth. Arkin is impressive as the dignified but terrified ambassador. Unusually, the film also looks at the effects of torture on the torturers, managing to convey the horrors subtley by inference rather than in-your-face nastiness. Well worth a look if you like dramas that do not dehumanise any of the characters.