Hostage (1983)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Frank Shields

Writers:

John Lind (writer)
Frank Shields (writer)

Release Date:

5 May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in 1980's Australia, this is the true story of a woman whose husband eventually reveals to her that he is an active member of the Nazi party...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Kerry Mack	...	Christine Maresch
Ralph Schicha	...	Walter Maresch
Gabriella Barraket	...	Child
Judy Nunn	...	Mrs. Lewis
Vic Robins	...	Mr. Lewis
Doris Goddard	...	Mrs. Hoffman
Michael Harrs	...	John Hoffman
Clare Binney	...	Freda Hoffman
Henk Johannes	...	Wolfgang
Burt Cooper	...	Helmut
Ian Mortimer	...	Gary
Moshe Kedem	...	Zaiter
Benno Sterzenbach	...	Mr. Maresch
Lydia Kreibohm	...	Heidi Maresch
Maximilian Wolters	...	Reisenberg

Also Known As:

Hostage: The Christine Maresch Story
Savage Attraction

Runtime:

90 min | USA:93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Frontier Films

Movie Connections:

Featured in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

Slightly Sleazy Aussie Outing is Ultimately Forgettable

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This movie, supposedly based on a true story, tells the tale of Christine Maresch (Kerry Mack, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Michelle Williams,) a runaway from a broken home who, while working at the carnival, meets and falls for Walter (Ralph Schicha), a German ex-pat who is living on the lam in Australia, for reasons which will soon become painfully clear to Christine. Perhaps she should have seen it coming when Walter shot himself upon having his marriage proposal rejected, but for some reason Christine agrees to marry him after all, in the ICU at the hospital, where he is being treated for his aforementioned gunshot wound. They have a daughter, Amanda (Gabriella Barraket) together, but quicker than you can say "Mein Fuhrer," Walter turns into a controlling lunatic, and a neo-Nazi to boot. Christine finds out that she's again pregnant, and informs Walter that she is going to get an abortion. He convinces her not to, tricking her into believing that if she comes back to Germany with him, she will be able to get a top of the line abortion in one of Germany's clinics. Only after they arrive does he tell her that no, they can't get an abortion there, because Walter wants a male heir, presumably to teach how to be a nut case, just like his pops. In Germany, the higher- ups in the neo-Nazi food chain are not impressed with Walter's wife, and make her participate in a bank robbery to prove her loyalty. The robbery goes off well, but the bosses still won't be satisfied with her, so they head back for Oz, where things go from bad to worse, with Christine being held hostage in her own house, the subject of regular beatings and rape. Eventually, Walter makes her participate in another bank robbery, the loot from which he uses to buy a boat, to sail to Germany with. Once on the water, the climactic confrontation occurs, with not much excitement to be found anywhere. A brief postscript reveals that Walter ended up going to jail for 14 years, and Christine got 4 years probation.

Even if this story is true (and I have my sneaking suspicions that there were, at the very least, major embellishments on the truth) it doesn't save it from being a total bore. There were only a couple of saving graces to be found; namely the attempted kidnapping scene in Turkey and the frequent display of Ms. Mack's breasts, which all in all really aren't enough to recommend this film very highly to anyone. This movie should stay buried in the jumbo junk heap of history.