Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, peril in excellent Swedish action hostage movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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A Day and a Half
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In A DAY AND A HALF, Artan (Alexej Manvelov), distraught and unhinged, has taken his ex-wife Louise (Alma Pöysti) hostage at the health center where she works. He has lost custody of his daughter in court and now has a gun pointed at Louise's head. This leads to a standoff between Artan and the police outside the building. Lukas (Feres Feres), a hostage negotiator, has entered the building. After getting Artan to release the staff and patients in the center, Artan demands a car so he can see his daughter, who is staying with Louise's parents. Lukas is the driver, and as they leave the health center, Lukas must find a way to prevent the situation from becoming any worse and convince Artan to give up before he makes good on threats to shoot Louise before shooting himself.
Is It Any Good?
This is a riveting, nonstop action movie with tremendous depth and skilled acting. Set in Sweden, A Day and a Half also manages to explore the complexities of immigration, racism, and mental illness and to what extent these problems exacerbated the problems between divorced and estranged Artan, an Albanian immigrant, and Louise, who suffered post-partum psychosis after the birth of their daughter.
In the middle of this is Lukas, a hostage negotiator, and we are led to expect that Lukas, played by Feres Feres, who also wrote and directed the picture, is an obligatory action movie alpha male there to save the day by any means necessary. But, like so much about A Day and a Half, the story and characters defy expectations, and each revelation to the characters and the story is as satisfying as it is entertaining, showing that action movies really don't have to be so typically mindless.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about action movies like A Day and a Half. How is this similar to and different from other movies centered on a hostage situation?
How is Lukas similar to and different from other action heroes?
How does the movie explore themes of mental illness, immigration, and racism?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 1, 2023
- Cast : Fares Fares , Alexej Manvelov , Alma Pöysti
- Director : Fares Fares
- Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Middle Eastern/North African Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 94 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 31, 2023
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