Special Correspondents - Film Review

Special Correspondents - Film Review

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Posted 2016-06-04 by anonymousfollow
Special Correspondents is a funny movie directed by, and starring, satirical funny-man Ricky Gervais (Ian Finch) alongside Australian actor Eric Bana (Frank Bonneville). The film is only released on Netflix.


The plot centres around a radio journalist 'star' (tall, good-looking, ballsy character played by Eric Bana), whose editor gives him an assignment to cover a conflict in Ecuador.



Frank chooses his sound engineer, Ian Finch. Frank finds Ian Finch sitting in a South American-style café across the road from his workplace. Ian is writing a sob-letter to his wife who has just split from him after having a one-night stand with Frank.

Feeling sorry for himself, Finch tags along with his co-worker to the airport. On the way, he throws the sob-letter into the back of a rubbish truck. Unfortunately, the letter also contained their passports and cash for the trip.

An argument ensues and the two are left sitting in the South-American-style café, located directly opposite the radio station, trying to figure out what to do.

Fearing they will be fired, they decide to fake it. Ian provides the sound effects while Frank makes-up generalized news reports of the conflict as it (doesn't) unfold. Neither of them have any clue what is really going on in Ecuador.

Before long, their story spins-out of control, and the US State Department orders them to get to the US Embassy in Quito.


With the help of their two South-American-café-owner friends, they stage a hostage situation. This is not a spoiler, so you will need to watch it yourself.

Although there are funny moments, the film does fall flat in some areas. The middle also looks like it was rushed and thus comes across as unbelievable. During the final stages of production on this film, Mr Gervais was beginning pre-production on his next film titled On the Road, an update on The Office, which is out later this year.

The Special Correspondents' plot is loosely based on the French film of the same title, Envoyés très spéciaux (2009), directed by Frederic Auburtin and based on the screenplay by Simon Michael.

All up, it's definitely worth watching for the entertainment value. Although the Australian version of Netflix carries only a limited range of movies, it is worth signing-up for a once-off one month $8.99 subscription just to watch this film.

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87350 - 2023-06-11 07:36:36

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