There’s no straightforward job description, or relaxation for that matter, for Roger Carstens, formally the particular presidential envoy for hostage affairs (SPERA) till simply this January. Carstens was one of many negotiators behind aiding Brittney Griner to freedom in addition to the discharge of Russia-held prisoners Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan. Now, in Adam Ciralsky and Subrata De’s shifting and successfully edited documentary “Take No Prisoners,” we see the fallout and wrongful detention of Eyvin Hernandez, a public defender hailing from California who, in 2022, was arrested in Venezuela and held there by present president Nicolás Maduro.
Ciralsky and De observe Carstens all through the state division, on the non-public jets that shuttle him to prisoner exchanges, and all the way in which to Caracas, the place he finally helped free Eyvin Hernandez in 2023. Because the film factors out, we’ve seen a 175 % enhance in wrongful detentions over the past decade — from Robert Lenvinson to Trevor Reed — and it typically happens in international locations making an attempt to have an effect on change in coverage, utilizing prisoners as political pawns, comparable to in China, Russia, Iran, Syria, and as we see, Venezuela. Sadly, Eyvin Hernandez was held at one among Venezuela’s most infamous prisons, referred to as The Home of Goals, however as one among Hernandez’s relations level out, it ought to be referred to as the Home of Nightmares.
There, Venezuela’s Basic Directorate of Army Counterintelligence holds political prisoners it suspects of being overseas brokers, which is why the federal government arrested Hernandez on the border whereas on a visit to Colombia. The filmmaking on “Take No Prisoners” isn’t particularly standout — this can be a political assertion and never essentially an immersively cinematic one, although the uncommon entry to and photographs of Carstens typically makes for an exhilarating narrative. Editor Scott Sheppard interweaves footage of Hernandez’s household in heart-rending emotional moments, recollecting Hernandez’s jail sentence and their very own efforts to assist get him out. It might have been moreover fascinating, too, to listen to and see extra concerning the many different wrongful detainees this documentary name-drops, although in the end, it retains the deal with Hernandez.
Among the many speaking heads right here is former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who outlines Carstens’ singular strategy, which is a mixture of empathy towards the households affected but additionally eager negotiation skills in and of themselves. The entry the filmmakers have right here, with Carstens exhibiting an openness in entrance of the digital camera that enables the documentary crew to know a part of his psychological strategy. “Take No Prisoners” is most heart-tugging, although, when it chronicles how Hernandez’s household, after he was freed, has pivoted to activism within the hopes that there not be one other Hernandez in historical past. In fact, there’s on daily basis.
Grade: B
“Take No Prisoners” premiered on the 2025 SXSW Movie & TV Pageant. It’s at present in search of U.S. distribution.
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