A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The Hunting Party

Date Viewed: 9/22/07

Details:

Terrence Howard

Richard Gere

James Brolin

Jesse Eisenberg

Ljubomir Kerekes

Director: Richard Shepard

Score: 1/2

The Review: "Only the most ridiculous parts are true." A bit of satire, some overwrought drama -- a low-pH study commenting on the foibles of the UN in hunting down not-so-carefully hidden Bosnian war criminals.

Simon Hunt (Gere) and Duck (Howard) were a highly successful reporter-cameraman team whose specialty was being on-site in war zones around the world. Things started to change as they were working the Balkan crisis, and Simon had a breakdown, on camera, live -- and rapidly became a pariah and freelance joke. Five years after the "successful peace brokerage," in the midst of a gathering of reporters covering the anniversary, Hunt & Dick happen to get together again, and with suitable recriminations and a tag-along newbie (Eisenberg), they hare off after one of the still-at-large ex-leaders and war criminals (Kerekes). In the process they get mistaken for a covert CIA team -- and other silliness, that works just barely. Not bad, but it depends where your liberal heart is located.

An occasional voice-over narration from the photographer (Howard) ties vignettes together and provides covering back-story. Beyond the big names above the marquee, cast largely with unknowns from where it was filmed: on-site in Bosnia/Herzegovina and Croatia.

Based on an 2000 Esquire article by Scott Anderson, which detailed the original escapade. The epilog -- text and images, ala Man for All Seasons or All the President's Men -- is clever, wry, and fascinating for its ties to reality.

(23-Sep-07)

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