Escape from Mogadishu (2021)

Escape from Mogadishu (aka Mogadishu) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

It felt somewhat refreshing to have an action-packed political thriller such as Escape From Mogadishu that doesn’t resort to such easy propaganda. How easy it could have been for this South Korean action picture to paint both North Korea and Somalia as the enemy, where the noble South Koreans navigate their way through violence. Thankfully, the film doesn’t try to easily condemn anyone in this situation. The South Koreans fleeing only want to survive and are merely caught in a bad situation.

It’s the early 1990s and Mogadishu is going through a huge change. Tensions are running high as rebels and citizens are taking up arms against a corrupt government. The South Korean diplomats are trying to appease the government for a better deal with exchange but find it hard when dealing with the conspiring North Koreans. Meetings are derailed when criminals are hired by the North Koreans to hold up their escorts and steal their good-faith gifts. Just when it feels as though the North and South Koreans will clash in Somalia, a bigger issue arises. Rebellion comes to Mogadishu where citizens rise up and the streets are blown up with violence. The Koreans, and every international embassy, are caught up in the crossfire.

We get to know just enough about the characters to root for them. Dae-jin is the South Korean intelligence officer who is the last new arrival and perhaps the only hope when it comes to finding a path out of the country. He’s skeptical of the situation and finds himself cautiously taking risks, barely keeping his temper under control when the intensity builds. He also isn’t above tactics just as dirty as the North Koreans, as seen with him bribing the press for a smear campaign involving rebels. This only further frustrates the chief South Korean ambassador Sin-seong, struggling to make ends meet when he has so little control over the situation.

The shoe is soon on the other foot when the revolution is underway and the North Korean embassy is assaulted. The North Koreans are spared from the carnage but flee into the darkness of night where streets are rampant with gunfire from the citizens. With women and children in tow, the North Koreans come to the well-armed South Korean embassy and plead for assistance. Deep questioning of trust is had as the two sides question just how much they’re willing to work together. When resources run out, including the resources for security forces, they may have to work together if either side hopes to make it out of Somalia.

North Korean ambassador, Rim Yong-su, is not portrayed so easily as the vindictive antagonist who is only shown pity when violence is in the streets. He has good reason to be concerned about his people when they’re taken in by the South Koreans. His biggest fears are that the South Koreans will force them to defect to find passage out of the country. This is somewhat proven right when a concerned Dae-jin takes it upon himself to draft the papers, against their will. Arguments are had and even a few fights. But when push comes to shove, their only hope lies in working together.

This is a very action-packed picture that has some impressive sequences of chaos. The highlight is by far the climactic car chase where the Koreans arm their cars with sandbags and books as armor, venturing as quickly as they can through wartorn streets for their exit flight. They find themselves unable to trust anybody when they’re caught in shootouts between the remainder of the Somali government, the rampant Somali rebels, and even cautious international embassies that don’t know who to trust with national relations at an all-time low. The fast-paced nature works well in that there’s little downtime for some characters to condemn Somalia and spit upon their revolting citizens who had good reason for an uprising.

Escape from Mogadishu doesn’t really have a lot to say politically but does have plenty of action to be an exciting picture. The unity message doesn’t feel forced and it has a bittersweet finale about how differences may be set aside for survival but may be easily forgotten. For a film such as this to have a message that holds up while being a fairly evenly portrayed picture of violent history, this is a focused action thriller that does a solid job at getting the blood pumping.