6/10
This is what the average Swiss film looks like, sadly.
18 March 2009
As a young investment greenhorn, still in High School, I invested some money in the company this film is about. I really thought that nobody could let this national symbol fail. It could never happen.

And then I lost US$ 550. In order to end my experiment at the stock exchange I even had to donate the shares to the broker firm because Swissair was in bankruptcy and I could not sell them for US$ 30.

Well, this summarizes how I approached this film. The powerpoint slides shown by the consultant were tell-tale and neatly summarized how Swissair got into that mess. The negotiations with the banks were also a (perverse) fun to watch – big banks wanting to crash Swissair in order to cheaply buy the still-profitable remnants of the wreck.

As somebody grown up and living in Switzerland I did not like that the film was made in the Swiss-German dialect. You know all the regional dialects that good that you wonder if the Swissair CEO really spoke like *that* – may you even know him? The new chief financial officer Mario Corti hires from the U.S., Jacqualayn Fouse, speaks such a horrible "English". It sounded more like a German imitating American English than an American imitating German. They could have used a perfect, accent-free German playing her part, especially when all the other roles speak Swiss-German dialect – this would have kept the distance between the Swiss managers and her as the hired expert from the U.S.

Another big trouble was the trashy, kitschy story about the little boy. About her mother. About her husband. It just did not look genuine. And the Italian worker in the GateGourmet kitchen – the police storming the cold room. Really.

The movie was certainly a well-made one. If one forgets everything beside the main plot, which was saving the airline and the negotiations with the government and the banks. A well-made corporate thriller is feasible and will attract many moviegoers. But don't waste the good premise with cheesy subplots, please. And I really mean PLEASE.

Another positive point worth mentioning is that the chief personnel officer of Swissair, Matthias Mölleney, actually played himself in this movie.

And I want my US$ 550 back, by the way.
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