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Is it worth putting one's life in danger just to get that great shot for an advertisement?
Action film director Will (Devon Sawa), driven by a devil-may-care attitude, gathers a team of extreme athletes to shoot a commercial on the Austrian mountains near
Yugoslavia. His concept is to film them skiing down the steep slopes while being chased by an avalanche of snow. Upon arrival, because of their extreme playfulness and
recklessness, which might endanger persons and property, the young people are given an unfinished resort on top of a mountain as their quarters. Hidden somewhere in that
multiple complex of a resort, they unexpectedly meet up with Sablova Pavlov (Klaus Lowitsch), a known terrorist who faked his death to be able to continue his evil deeds while
in hiding. Pavlov believes he has been videotaped by the "intruders" of his hideout, and wants the tape. The resulting encounter is the beginning of a series of dangerous
hide-and-seek episodes, trying to outwit-each-other atop the treacherous mountain and environs.
The plot is flimsy. Some of the many scenes or sequences of the cat-and-mouse chase could have
been edited out. Instead, the role of the antagonist Pavlov could have been more developed. Acting wise the European actors are good; however, their characters are not
substantive enough. Most of the shots concentrate on the very visual and thrilling, death-defying stunts on the mountains, alongside onrushing trains and dropping from
helicopters. These are beautifully executed by Director Christian Duguay and caught on film by cinematographer Hannes Hubach.
Life is a precious gift. So putting one's life at risk shows a lack of respect for it. Thus
playfulness and recklessness may be wrong, when dangerous activities are involved, for one or another's life could be endangered. For good reasons, expertise or skill is
needed in any activity that is considered reasonably dangerous but important, for example to escape danger, to rescue lives, in pursuit of runaway vehicles etc. To hone these
skills sometimes such activities may become a form of extremist competitive sports. However, risking one's life recklessly to experience or enjoy a "high" may be questioned.
Also questionable, in regard to ecological balance, is the activity of causing avalanches to produce a desired ad.
(Date reviewed: February 28, 2003)
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