Singapore International Film Festival 2018
Midnight Express
Language
English - subtitles to be advised
Genre
Biography, Crime, Drama
Cast
Brad Davis, Irene Miracle Bo Hopkins
Synopsis
In 1970, Billy Hayes is caught in possession of drugs while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul. Wanting to make an example of him, the Turkish authorities sentence him to over 30 years in prison. Within the hostile prison environment, with its internal hierarchies and untrustworthy denizens, sadistic prison warden Hamidou relishes the mental and physical torture he inflicts on the prisoners.
Billy must decide between limited options: let the prison kill him, figuratively or literally; wait for his loved ones’ legal and diplomatic appeals to succeed; or attempt to escape by catching the ‘Midnight Express’—prison slang for an escape attempt. A hit upon its release, Midnight Express is often cited as the film that severely damaged Turkey’s tourism industry.