At 3 minutes and 26 seconds, this seems to be more of a showreel than a trailer – but it certainly whets the appetite for Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, regardless. Directed by Daniel Alfredson (The Girl Who Played With Fire), and written by William Brookfield (Doctor Sleep), the film is based on the work of Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter, Peter R de Vries, who wrote ‘The Heineken Case’ in 1983, and ‘The Kidnapping of Alfred Heineken’ in 1987.
Heineken was Chairman and CEO of the brewing company, Heineken International, and was known to be one of the richest people in the Netherlands when he was kidnapped in 1983. His captors – Cor van Hout, William Holleeder, Jan Boelaard, Frans Meijer and Martin Erkamps – demanded a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders which, when received, made it the highest ransom ever paid for one person.
The film details the planning and execution of the kidnapping, as well as the gang’s attempts to escape justice once they received their payment. Starring as the kidnappers are Sam Worthington (Sabotage), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Thomas Cocquerel (Walk Right In) and Mark van Eeuwen (App). As compelling as those performances look to be, however, it is Anthony Hopkins in the role of Heineken that is the real draw here. In a thundering, powerhouse turn, Hopkins seems to give credence to the theory that the very best work is gained by locking him in a small room (see The Silence Of The Lambs, for reference).
The trailer for Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is well-worth watching, and the movie itself seems well-worth looking out for – though according to the trailer, it is still in post-production. It currently has a release date of January 8th, 2015 for the Netherlands only, but we will be scanning the horizon for indications of wider distribution thereafter.
