Mogadishu (film)

Slogan : “5 days for which the world held its breath” ^[1]

Events unfold during the German autumn of 1977 . On the evening of October 17, on the platform of the airport of Mogadishu ( Somalia ) stands the Boeing 737 " Landshut " of the German airline Lufthansa . Four days earlier, he was on a regular passenger flight from the Balearic Islands to Frankfurt when he was captured by terrorists from the PFLP , who now demand a ransom of $ 15 million for the hostages on board and the release from German prisons of terrorists from the RAF and PFLP. This capture will last more than a hundred hours, during which the plane will have time to visit Rome , Cyprus , Manama , Dubai and Aden . The German authorities are attempting to free the hostages, but authorities in other countries refuse to help them, since, according to some reports ^[2] , the Soviet KGB is actually behind the PFLP.

After the plane lands in Mogadishu, the terrorists demand that their conditions be fulfilled by half past one in the morning, otherwise threatening with reprisals against the hostages, and as evidence of their intentions, the body of the crew killed earlier will be thrown out. The cabin of the airliner is mined and doused with alcohol so that the hostages have no chance of escape during the explosion. Somalia is loyal to the Palestinians, so the invaders are confident in their safety. However, they are unaware of the double game of the Somali authorities, for whom the hijacked plane became a “gift of fate”, and also that a plane is already flying to Mogadishu, which is being piloted by a bridegroom of one of the hostage stewardesses . The impending night will be marked by "Magic Fire" ( German: Feuerzauber ) and not everyone is destined to meet the dawn.

Filming with the working title Mogadischu Welcome ( Russian. Welcome to Mogadishu - the inscription on the airport control tower) took place from October to December 2007 - on the 30th anniversary of the theft. Scenes were shot in Berlin , Bonn , Munich and Ulm , and also part of the filming was performed in Casablanca ( Morocco ) ^[3] . In particular, in the scene with the train to free the aircraft, you can see Sud Aviation Caravelle with the registration number CN-CCX, owned by Royal Air Maroc , but by the time of filming it was already delayed from flying ^[4] .

Maurice Remy sought to show the events from the point of view of the hostages, therefore, for immersion in the atmosphere, the actors and extras spent ten days in the cabin of an abandoned Boeing ^[5] . It is also noteworthy that the main female role was played by Nadia Ul , who simultaneously managed to star in the movie " Baader-Meinhof Complex " as the terrorist Brigitte Monhaupt from the RAF - accomplices of the PFLP. The actress herself later stated in an interview that she considers these two opposite in character roles as an interesting experience ^[6] .

In parallel, a documentary was shot about the theft, which included recordings from interviews with former hostages.

The first screening of the film took place on November 19, 2008 at the Berlin CineStar cinema ^[3] . The premiere of the film on television took place on November 30 at 20:15 on the German television channel Das Erste , as well as the Austrian ORF 2 . In total, the premiere was watched by 7.34 million viewers or 21.2% of the total market audience, including 2.72 million viewers aged 14 to 49 years, which is 18.1% of the "young audience". After its completion, at 22:45 the channel also showed a documentary film about theft, which was watched by 4.25 million viewers ^[7]

Subsequently, the film was released on DVD.

A fascinating and rich adaptation of the hijacking of a Landshut [ Lufthansa ] car by Palestinian terrorists in October 1977 and until his release by GSG 9 . The events are shown from the point of view of the victims, as an interesting and exciting (watch TV) film with wonderful actors, and the latest information about the relations of terrorists with the KGB is also displayed.

Original text (German)

Spannende, sehr dichte Rekonstruktion der Entführung der Lufthansa-Maschine "Landshut" durch palästinensische Terroristen im Oktober 1977 bis zu deren Stürmung durch eine Einheit der GSG 9. Die Ereignisse werden aus der Sichterferfern derferfer Darstellern aufgearbeitet, wobei auch neuere Erkenntnisse wie die Kontakte des Terror-Drahtziehers zum KGB Berücksichtigung finden ^[2] .

2008

• Goldener Gong - prize for directing (Roland Suso Richter) and screenplay (Maurice Philip Remy)

2009

• Grimme-Preis - nomination in the fiction category;
• Goldene Kamera - Award in the category "Best Television Film";
• Bayerischer Fernsehpreis - special prize;
• Deutscher Fernsehpreis - Award in the category "Best Television Film";
• Nomination for the competition of the Baden-Baden Film Festival

• Landshut aircraft hijacking

• The full version of the movie "Mogadischu" (Part 1) on YouTube
• Mogadischu on the Internet Movie Database  
• Mogadischu on the Rotten Tomatoes website