Fishing Without Nets (2014 film)

Fishing Without Nets is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Cutter Hodierne. The film stars Abdikani Muktar, Abdi Siad, Abdiwali Farrah, Abdikhadir Hassan, Reda Kateb and Idil Ibrahim.

The film premiered in-competition in the US Dramatic Category at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014. It won an award at the festival.

Synopsis
A Somali father turns to piracy in order to support his family. However, he begins to experience intense ethical reservations.

Cast

 * Abdikani Muktar Manur as Abdi
 * Abdikhadir Mukhtar as Khadir
 * Abdiwali Farrah as China Boy (Abdi's pirate friend)
 * Reda Kateb as Victor
 * Idil Ibrahim as Idil
 * Eric Godon as Captain Charlie
 * Abdi Siad as Blacky
 * Hanad Mire as Hanad
 * Abubakr Mahamud Mire as Mr. Chairman
 * Abdikani Muktar as a side character (no name)

Plot
In the movie "Fishing Without Nets" (2014), the story of Somali pirates is told from the perspective of a young fisherman named Abdi. The film begins with showcasing Abdi's life as a poor fisherman and his dire family situation. The sea later is revealed to be polluted which makes Abdi's life even more difficult to maintain. The film then transitions into Abdi and his crew hijacking a cargo ship and taking its crew members as hostages. However, Abdi starts to question his actions and develops a bond with one of the hostages, a white man named Victor.

As the story progresses, tensions among the pirates begin to rise. Some of the pirates become frustrated with the lack of payment and the presence of planes flying over their camp. This leads to a confrontation with Khadir and his men on the cargo ship. One of the pirates even threatens to shoot Victor if he doesn't call for money.

Abdi plans to leave the camp to save his family, but he is accused of stealing money and communicating with the drones. The situation becomes more intense when the pirates get high on khat and gasoline and force Victor to recite the shahada. Luckily, Kadir and his men intervene and prevent any harm from coming to Victor.

However, the tension among the pirates continues to escalate, leading to a violent attack and the pirates taking control of the cargo ship. Kadir loses his life, and Abdi is locked in a room at the bottom of the ship after trying to escape. The pirates assume that they are not getting paid and plan to kill the hostages. Victor and Abdi attempt to escape, but Victor is killed by the same pirate who killed Kadir.

Abdi manages to escape and honor Victor with a proper burial. He then sets out to find the money, and after navigating the cargo ship to the area, he finds it. The movie ends with Abdi successfully finding the money and the story coming full circle.

In conclusion, "Fishing Without Nets" is a captivating film that explores the world of Somali piracy and the moral conflicts that arise within it. The tension and violence build up to a shocking and emotional ending that leaves the audience contemplating the characters' choices and action

Themes
Fishing Without Nets is a true depiction of humans being pushed to conduct violence. The film features many core themes, such as: desperation to live a good life, Abdi’s battle of conscious, and the pirates’ desensitization from reality and responsibly.

Desperation is the main theme of the film; it is the motive behind the piracy. The roots of this desperation stems from the fact that the hole in Africa, East Africa, is in a state of constant conflict, and Somalia is in an economic collapse. The piracy problem in Somalia is exacerbated by the lack of a functioning government and basic services, which has led to a breakdown in law and order.

Abdi has a battle of consciousness throughout the film, he is in a dilemma between choosing to be a fisherman and provide for his family in an honorable way, or be a pirate and commit acts of violence, there was only on realistic choice that was imposed on him. In an interesting scene, Abdi tells Victor, the French person, “you me, jail”, meaning, even though Victor is tied up and Abdi is free, both are imprisoned in the situation. An observation that illustrates a mental contrast is that Abdi doesn’t say he is a good guy but acts like it; the young general who can’t control his emotions, says he is a good guy, but doesn’t act like it.

The Somali pirates are represented in the film as broken people who just want to improve their living standards, but in reality, they are a bunch of murderers stealing money to fund their militias. The use of drugs, called “thinners”, is prevalent by the pirates, this makes the story more interesting. The pirates are not in their right mind because of their desperation, and this leads them to resort to drugs which desensitizes them from reality and makes it easier on them to commit atrocities and justify their actions. Furthermore, the chairman justifies extortion by rationalizing that forcefully taking money from the insurance company will not hurt any side, when, it does actually hurt the insurance company.

The director, Hodierne, centers the film around Abdi, which makes the viewers understand why the people around him do what they do. This cinematic choice humanizes the pirates and shows their choices stems from desperation. They use drugs to escape their negative consciences; their evil deeds aren’t out of their own will. However, people on the raided ship don’t know any aspect of Somalians life, all they know is that they are pirates who rob people.

Director biography
Cutter Shepard Hodierne (born October 27, 1986) is an American filmmaker best known for winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for his short film, Fishing Without Nets, and for winning the Directing Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival for a feature version of the same film.

Release
"Fishing without Nets" premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival was also screened at the Venice Film Festival and the South by Southwest Film Festival. It reportedly grossed around $11,000 in its domestic box office and was later released in theaters and on video-on-demand platforms. Hodierne, originally made the short film of the same name in 2012. It won the Grand Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Critical response
Fishing Without Nets met with positive response from critics upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Dennis Harvey, in his review for Variety, praised the film that "Cutter Hodierne makes an accomplished feature debut with this very well-crafted, empathetic hijacking drama." John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter in his review said that "While the setup and the moral dilemmas are all familiar from crime stories told in other settings, Hodierne does a fine job balancing the elements. The movie never reaches the sweating-bullets heights of its Hollywood cousin, but it's distinct enough from that film to keep us watching." Ryland Aldrich from TwitchFilm praised the direction and editing that "From the gorgeous visuals to the incredible acting by non-professionals, Fishing Without Nets takes a world to which we've been recently introduced, and expands it to magnificent results."