Death is always a scary thought, a scary emotion, but it is real, it exists and we have to face it someday. We cannot ignore it and hope that it will not come because it will. When? You can never know. It can be today, it can be tomorrow or it can be in 50 years. But, that is how life on this planet works. However, what if you found yourself in a situation when you only had 10 minutes left to live and you knew that? Well, the movie “20 Minutes” has to say something about that.
From what I gather while watching the film, I think the entire story is based on the fake Hawaiian missile alert that happened back in 2018. If you do not know about it, this situation was quite complicated. The government issued a ballistic missile alert by accident through the emergency alert system. So, every television, radio, and cell phone received that alert message. In those moments, sheer panic started and people were seeking shelter, not knowing that it was false.
I can only imagine one that went through the mind of all those people in Hawaii. Were they scared? Were they angry? Were they angry at themselves because of how they lead their life? These are some very heavy thoughts and I am sure that it had an impact on a lot of people’s lives.
This film tries and succeeds to explain the emotions and thoughts that go to the mind of a person when they know that they are going to die. With the directing by Timothy A. Chey and the talent from the actors Dia Frampton, Michael Camp, Dean Testerman, Bernard Aderhol-Lindsey, and others, the movie definitely managed to realistically depict the entire situation.
The constant stress of imminent danger
I believe that this kind of idea or story has not been executed for a movie before. Or, maybe it has, but it was not as good door maybe I just have not watched it. Whether such a film exists or not, does not matter because “20 Minutes” perfectly executed this idea.
One of my favorite things about the entire movie is the constant stress I felt that lasted throughout the entire story. The stress that there is some kind of danger coming and that the characters inside of the story are not safe. The stress is even higher because none of those characters managed to find a safe location where they will be unaffected by the ballistic missile attack.
While I was watching, the director never allowed me to forget about that ballistic missile attack flying in the air. Whenever I forgot, there was some new scene that showed the missile flying or tense music in the background telling me that something is wrong. Obviously, the characters that were always in a panic, scared and afraid also helped maintain that intensity throughout the entire movie.
Magnificent acting
Whenever I get into watching these movies that are not Hollywood level popular, I am always ready to be either surprised or very disappointed. But, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Even with an obviously low budget, the director still managed to capture the feeling of dread.
However, the director was not the only magician for this movie. All the actors managed to grab my attention and make me care for their characters. Every single character had a story, a background, and something that made me relate to them. They cared about their families, they cared about their safety and some of them were selfish.
All of this felt very real and it is probably what would happen and what happened back in 2018 during the fake missile attack broadcast. I assume that people in Hawaii were very afraid and many of them tried to escape the city or find any kind of underground shelter. I remember a report from back then that there were people racing on the highway driving hundreds of miles per hour which was not safe in any way. But, in those moments, would you really care?
All of this was so well captured thanks to the in-depth characters and the magnificent acting. Not one of these actors managed to break my immersion and take me out of the story. I was especially interested in Mark and Nigel’s story. The military woman (forgot her name) also built quite the story. Standing in front of the helicopter with her fellow soldier, waiting for the missile to hit was quite heartwarming and heartbreaking too.
Either way, I want to give props to every single one of these actors. Bernard Aderhold-Lindsey, Aaron Braxton, Ricky Sua’ava, Mihara India, and everyone else that was part of the cast. Of course, some of these names might not be familiar to you, but I think I can safely say that they have mastered a Hollywood level of acting.
What would you do if you had 10 minutes left to live?
The watching experience was amazing because I was constantly immersed in the story. But, it also made me think about certain things. What would I do if I knew that I had a certain amount of time left to live? It does not matter whether it is 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or even 10 hours. It is a very short amount of time and you have to accept your fate.
What would you do? Would you call your loved ones? Would you continue enjoying the last minutes of your life? Would you do something that you never had the courage to do before in your life? Would you start praying? Would you consider whether the afterlife exists or whether there are any higher powers that could help you?
I think that this is a very interesting topic and that you should watch the movie and that you should delve deeper into this subject and maybe get an answer to the question that the movie asks.
Overall, I would give the film a solid 9/10 and I hope that this review will push even more people to watch it and appreciate it.
