😍 2022-10-27 18:55:00 – Paris/France.
Henry (Sean Harris) and Paul (Steve Mouzakis) first met while traveling by bus, in an encounter that could have gone down as just a friendly chat between strangers. But they eventually established a close friendship that was only broken when Paul was forced to give up his identity and flee the country due to legal issues.
Before disappearing and in a kind of return of hand, the man proposed to his new friend to put him in contact with the criminal organization in which he worked, the same one which helped him to prepare his escape. This is how he meets Mark (Joel Edgerton), the member of the gang who will guide him in his first races. Gradually, Henry begins to interact with superiors and participate in important meetings. You feel part of a group that promises to always keep you safe.
He never suspected it was all a big lie. Nothing was by chance, neither the first meeting with Paul nor his entry into the organization. Henry was just the prime suspect in a major secret police operation. investigating the abduction and subsequent murder of a child several years ago in Australia.
Since its premiere on Netflix on October 18 and after passing through the last Cannes Film Festival, The stranger It was well received by critics and audiences., remaining in the top 10 of the most viewed content in the world over the days. Moreover, it is another fiction inspired by a real case.
A significant part of his argument is based on the book The bitewhere journalist Kate Kyriacou compiles all the details of the police deployment that ended in 2013 with the capture of Brett Peter Cowanresponsible for the abduction and murder of boy Daniel Morcombe in December 2003. The case is remembered as one of the largest and most high-profile recorded in Australia, so film shooting news In 2020, it has generated various opinions in the Pacific country.
The Stranger, Netflix movie
The main detractors were Morcombe's parents. Through a press release posted on the Facebook page of the foundation created in memory of their son, the couple pointed out that the team behind the film had contacted them to tell them about the project and that, despite everything, the shooting of the movie I didn't like. have their support.
“In a twisted way, it also provides oxygen to a sadistic beast by making his evil deeds visible. People who make money from heinous crimes are parasites. In our opinion, they disrespected Daniel, his legacy and the Morcombe family. We challenge the personal values and judgments of investors, producers, directors, cast and crew. We will not approve of it, as it is a very painful reminder to our family that triggers unimaginable personal harm.“, expresses the text.
The Sting, Kate Kyriacou's book about the undercover operation to capture Daniel Morcombe's killer
The parents also point out that this is a film that comes at a particularly sensitive time, as next year will be the 20th anniversary of the minor's murder. “The passage of time does not make things any easier. Personally, we believe that the making of this film is morally corrupt and a cruel, callous and selfish grab of money from everyone involved,” they conclude, adding that their appeal to the public is not to see the film. " Save your money or consider donating to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation“, closes the post.
Despite the categorical opinion of the minor's closest family, director Thomas M. Wright has defended the making of the feature, arguing that it is not a story centered on violent detail. “The more I read it – Kyriacou's book – the more I saw a film that doesn't talk about violence at all. Clearly, the film's motive is an unspeakable act of violence that epitomizes the worst that human animals are capable of. But that's not what the film is about,” the filmmaker said in an interview with The Guardian.
The movie is careful about referencing the details of the real case that inspired it. The use of fictitious names and the decision not to recreate the abduction and subsequent murder of the minor are clear signs of this intent. Even so, its relation to the facts is obvious. Especially, because it is one of the most memorable crimes in Australian history.
It all dates back to December 7, 2003. Around 13:00 p.m., Daniel Morcombe left his home in Queensland for an unofficial bus stop located under an overpass. That day, the 13-year-old had planned to meet his brothers in the morning to pick fruit from their neighbours' yards, then join his parents for a Christmas picnic.
Brett Peter Cowan, killer of Daniel Morcombe
However, an unexpected morning rain changed the route. The engagement at her neighbors being canceled, Daniel decided to take the opportunity to go to the mall to get a haircut and buy Christmas presents for his family. with the money he has been saving bit by bit from the passion fruit harvest. Although he insisted that one of his brothers accompany him, the 13-year-old boy ended up leaving his house alone.
The course did not involve any apparent danger. The bus stop was barely a kilometer from their house and the children had internalized the order to return home no later than 17:00 p.m., when the last bus left the centre. Also, they always had a phone card on them in case of an emergency.
Arrived at the bus stop, Daniel waited a few minutes for the locomotion which usually passed at 13:35 p.m. to approach. But a technical problem suffered along the way delayed the bus.
While Daniel waited, a tall, thin, dark-haired man pulled out of the parking lot of a nearby church and approached the stop. The bus was almost 30 minutes late, even though it didn't stop. The driver tried to explain to him with signs that in a few minutes another vehicle would pass by, but everything indicates that the boy did not receive the message.
Daniel Morcombe
Despite everything, the driver made sure to warn his colleague that two passengers, a boy and a man, were waiting for him there. “Make sure you pick them up,” he told his partner on the radio. A few minutes later, the transporter passed by the place indicated. However, he noticed that no one was waiting. The man and the boy were gone.
Time passed and Daniel did not appear. The concern of his parents intensified when the last bus passed and the minor still did not enter the house and did not communicate by telephone. They walked through stops, the mall and surrounding streets thinking their son might be hurt. Eventually they reached the bus company, but no one knew anything about Daniel.
It was then that Bruce and Denise decided to contact the police. The character of the child made the possibility of an act of rebellion such as escape very unlikely. That very morning, family and neighbors began a search around the bus stop. The police deployment began soon after.
It didn't take long for the city streets to fill with officers. They extended the cadastre to cane fields, waterways and the backyards of houses, but without success. The first clues pointed to a blue car and a white truck that had been spotted by witnesses near the road. Some said they saw two men. Others, three.
Parents of Daniel Morcombe
The only repeated track referred to a square-shaped blue sedan. This testimony, along with a long list of prior sex crimes, positioned Brett Peter Cowan as one of the crime suspects.
Time passed and the investigation yielded nothing. All the alarms went off, but it was as if Daniel had been swallowed up by the earth. Thus, eight years have passed since the disappearance of the child. At this time, Cowan remained the police's prime suspect, but the lack of a clear timeline to prove his involvement in the events made it difficult to secure an arrest and subsequent conviction.
It was then that a procedure known as Mr. Big, also dubbed as the Canadian technique, was launched, where undercover agents pretend to belong to a criminal organization to obtain confessions from criminals. So a fictional gang was created to lure Cowan by seducing him with the promise of participating in the next big hit. However, and as a sign of loyalty, it was necessary for the man to confess his worst crimes to the chief.
Daniel Morcombe Foundation
Cowan fell for the trap and exposed all the details of Daniel's crime. According to Australian press records, the criminal had abused around 30 children in his lifetime. His plan was to do the same with Daniel, but when it came time to act, he panicked and ended up killing him. In the process, Cowan even led officers to where he buried the boy's body.
Finally, Brett Peter Cowan was arrested on August 13, 2011 for murder, child theft, indecent treatment of a minor, imprisonment and interference with a corpse. The search for the remains began the next day, and it was not until four days later that rescuers found Daniel's first clothes.
Gradually, various bones belonging to the child were found. On November 26, 2012, the trial began against Cowan, who was found guilty of the crime. Daniel's remains were buried by his family in August this year. In order to honor his memory, the minor's parents created the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, aimed at educating children at risk and which continues to operate.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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