6 Days

New Zealand/UK 2017

Following the visceral The Dead Lands, the latest from Kiwi filmmaker Toa Fraser rounds out his status as a serious action filmmaker. 6 Days tells the gripping true story of what happened when six terrorists invaded the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. With 26 people taken hostage, police, politicians and military wrestled for six nail-biting days over the best way to neutralise the threat. Policeman Max Vernon (a soulful Mark Strong) tries to reason with the gunmen through negotiation and trust, while Rusty Firmin (Jamie Bell) and a crack team of SAS operatives prepare to handle the situation by more aggressive means.

As pressure to resolve the issue mounts, the film climaxes in one of the most audacious special forces raids in history. Amidst the action is BBC reporter Kate Adie (Abbie Cornish), the British journalist whose arresting live coverage of the event broke new ground for TV news reporting.

The film somehow succeeds as both a masterclass in tension and a timely examination of the moral fallout that comes with violence. — JF