Caracara (2000)

Wonderful Movie

Simply A Masterpiece

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie is for all the bird lovers out there. Caracara is one great thriller about murder and mayhem, and it has the bird for the title. I think with the title like Caracara, it would show what the bird looked like, and it did. Natasha Henstrdge plays Rachel Sutherland, a woman who get caught in a conspiracy of an assassination that leads into complete craziness. She owns the beautiful bird, and she always let herself be taken advantage of. The assassin is very cunning, and he would be in disguise to make his move on the unfortunate victim. One big giveaway in the movie is when he forgets to remove his contact from the last disguise. How forgetful can you get? That can impair your sharpshooting ability. The sex, the violence, and all the intrigue is all there in the movie, and I enjoyed it very much. Very subtle, yet very enjoyable at the same time. Rating 3 out of 5 stars.

Most people will be surprised by this review because most of the people have not rated this movie very highly. But I have ..I am a big Natasha Henstridge fan and i believe she is the most under rated actress of the current generation . in spite of terrific performances in movies like Species-2,she is still considered a B-grade actress. I think in this movie she gives an absolutely wonderful performance . Inspite of the weak storyline ,she literally carries the film on her shoulders .The film centers around a lonely,single ornithologist Rachel Sutherland(Henstridge) who is obsessed with her work and presumably has no time for relationships. Things take a turn for worse when a mysterious FBI agent (Jonathan Screech) requests her to make her house a surveillance post to track a would be assassin of Nelson Mandela . Rachel slowly falls for the guy and starts loving him but is in for the surprise of her life when she realizes that the purported FBI agent is the assassin himself in disguise. How she escapes from the clutches of the assassin and saves the day makes up the rest of the movie . For a small budgeted T.V. movie , this is indeed an outstanding movie . Inspite of the constraints of the budget and the thin plot this movie does an outstanding job of being a roller-coaster ride . Henstridge is indeed notable here ,so is screech ..though the rest of the cast tends to be mediocre at times . The suspense does keep you at the edge of the seat for occasions.If there was even an Oscar for TV movies i would certainly recommend Natasha Henstridge for the best actress award.Not to be missed if you plan to spend your Saturday evening at home .Great movie. Why wasn't this one in the theaters? Natasha really proves her mettle here . I would highly recommend this work as her best work so far.

Other reviewers have described the content of this film, so I won't repeat. Instead, I'll hold forth on a pet peeve about movies. Which is - the liberties taken with bird content in movies. To wit: The film is named "Caracara", but the bird used in the film is a Harris's Hawk. There are nine species of Caracara in the world. They're all found in Central and South America. One of the nine occurs far enough north to be found in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Did they think that none of the 70 million birdwatchers in the US (according to the "National Survey on Recreation and the Environment" conducted periodically by the US Forest Service, most recently released in 2002) would notice?One of the other comments on this film included: "Hence the title, referring to the species of Peregrine falcon she keeps as a pet". First, a Peregrine Falcon is a species itself; there are not species thereof. Second, although the Caracaras are members of the Falcon family, the bird used in this film is not a Falcon of any kind - Caracara, Peregrine or otherwise.This is a low budget film, but this is not an expensive item to research. I suppose they liked the name "Caracara", which is rather more exotic than "Harris's Hawk". So, when it turned out that no Caracara could be found to appear in the film, they simply substituted something else, and kept the cool name. And they figured it didn't matter if they got it "right", because the audience wouldn't notice. Considering the comment quoted above, perhaps they are right. But, considering the kind of obsessive attention to detail found in many other aspects of filmmaking, it is baffling why so many films consistently goof up bird-related content. (The sound people are especially culpable in this regard.)

After enjoying Schaech in "welcome to Woop Woop" I have been looking for his other work. Last night I saw "Caracara", which is the first time I saw him as the "bad guy". He gave a great performance - I think he is one of the up and coming great actors of this time (2001). I will look forward to seeing him in future movies. The other actors/actresses gave solid performances, and I was on the edge of my seat until the end of the film. It isn't the best movie I ever saw, but all in all, a good way to spend a couple of hours. There is a LOT of killing in this movie, though - I wouldn't recommend this for younger audiences.