Danish director Tobias Lindholm’s solo directorial debut is grim. While on their way to Mumbai, a Danish cargo ship is hijacked by Somali pirates. The crew are taken hostage and a demand of 18 million USD is issued to the boat owner’s company. We are treated to torturously slow shifts between negotiations in clean Copenhagen offices and an increasingly grimy ship galley. A Hijacking is a classic hostage thriller, yet it retains the painful realism seen in Lindholm’s previous work. It is economical – lacking in epic shoot-outs on the high seas. It is this however, that makes it so successful.

The hijacking itself is elegantly overlooked. We hear about it second-hand through CEO Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling), while in the company’s head-office. Lindholm balances the two locations brilliantly, contrasting the helpless crew on the cargo ship with the equally helpless suits in Copenhagen. On the ship, we follow the cook Mikkel (PilouAsbæk), as he slowly deteriorates below deck. The camerawork is very effective, rarely showing anything outside their impromptu prison. We are just as confused and anxious when gunfire is heard from above, and just as relieved when hygienic facilities are provided.Congenial scenes of fishing and drinking between the crew and the pirates might offer a small sense of security, but this quickly turns into something more sinister. The pirates are un-subtitled and their storyline completely unexplored and when the crew are being yelled at in a language they don’t understand, the confusion translates perfectly to the audience. This puzzlement, combined with an almost complete devoid of music, makes big action scenes completely unnecessary. The result is that a slight shift of a gun in A Hijacking, equals two car-chases and a shoot-out in any Hollywood blockbuster.

A Hijacking offers stellar performances. Particularly memorable perhaps is Omar, the pirates’ translator and negotiator, played by Abdihakin Asgar. He balances camaraderie with bursts of rage, and skilfully plays the mediator between the two worlds of the film.

And all this led to a complete silence in the audience when the closing credits rolled. This is not just a film for people nursing a special interest in Danish cinema, but for anyone on the lookout for a well-crafted and harrowing thriller.