6 Days

10^th October 2017 6.20pm at Picturehouse Central
12^th October 2017 2.45pm at Vue West End
15^th October 2017 9.00pm at Prince Charles Cinema

On 30^th April 1980, London was shocked by the news that the Iranian Embassy in Kensington had been stormed by six armed Iranians, with 26 people taken hostage in the process. Their aim was to successfully negotiate the release of 91 Arab prisoners in Khuzestan and secure their own safe passage out of the country. What followed was a six-day standoff between the hostage takers and the Thatcher-led British Government.

6 Days follows the events that occurred through the eyes of a number of those involved. On the first morning of the hostage situation, the Iranian group, led by a man called Salim (Ben Turner), storm the embassy capturing all inside. BBC reporter Kate Adie (Abbie Cornish) is called to the scene to cover the incidents underway along with Chief Inspector Max Vernon (Mark Strong) of the Metropolitan Police. In a retelling of the horrific and nerve-jangling events that followed, it is down to Vernon to call the shots that will leave innocent lives in the balance and to bring in the relatively unknown Special Air Service, led by Lance Corporal Rusty Firmin (Jamie Bell).

Based entirely on the true  circumstances, 6 Days is an intense exhibition of the build up to, and action during, the siege of the Iranian Embassy titled “Operation Nimrod”. Structured day by day, the film is an informative insight into the perspectives from all angles, with a particularly engaging look into the world of the terrorists themselves and their internal conflict over their true cause. Ben Turner stands out of the pack, with an emotional touch to a character that is not a figure of empathy, and Jamie Bell brings his rugged yet cut look to the role of Rusty, his presence rapidly increasing the tempo of the movie with each scene.

With a late 20^th-century colour palette of brown and orange hues, the film is true to its surroundings and is supported by the presence of old footage and TV shows from the period. It can be tricky to make an engaging piece of cinema when the focus is entirely on one event over a short period of time, but director Toa Fraser has done the best with the material at hand, sprinkling some humour over some scenes to lighten the tone. A pulse-raising spectacle, 6 Days is a very strong and truthful depiction of what occurred between 30^th April and 5^th May 1980.

Guy Lambert

6 Days does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews and interviews from our London Film Festival 2017 coverage here.

For further information about the festival visit the official BFI website here.

Watch the trailer for 6 Days here: