Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

Actually, I'm writing this from Las Vegas where I'm on a super-secret mission to expand my bootlegging operations. Sure, buying and selling alcohol is legal these days, but that doesn't make the job any less exciting. Anyway, I'm here to discuss a jaw-droppingly stunning documentary that hopefully will be making its way into your town in the near future, if it hasn't already. If Abduction is any indication, this is going to be a hell of a good year for docs (and I've already seen a handful of upcoming doc releases that a truly wonderful).

After blowing minds at a handful of film festivals last year, Abduction is finally getting a well-deserved release (albeit limited) in 2007, marking the first truly great documentary of the year. The film details--and more than likely introduces Western audiences to a completely unknown phenomenon--the abduction of a handful of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The film focuses on the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl named Megumi, who was apparently kidnapped coming home from school one night and her devoted parents who never stopped trying to discover the truth about where she was and may still be. As directed by first-time feature directors Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim, the tale is patiently unveiled like a crime drama, with each new layer of shocking detail introduced with and undeniable emotional punch. I never would have guessed what happened to Megumi and dozens other like her (actually many of those taken were older).

I don't want to give away why the North Koreans began this campaign, but if you weren't already terrified of Kim Jon-il and his administration, you will be after seeing this film. What's even more infuriating about this story is that the relatives of the abducted were hampered in their search by there own government, who was in delicate trade negotiations with the North Koreans when the truth about the abducted citizens came to light. It seems like a no-brainer. If another country steps on your soil and swipes your people, that's an act of war, right? The Japanese government works differently than America, and when the families of the disappeared directly confront the Japanese Prime Minister, their pain and anger is raw and relentless. It also wouldn't be right of me to reveal in this review whether any of these missing souls are still alive or ever saw Japan again. The reason the film will be so unbelievable to Western audiences is that you more than likely will have no idea where this story will take you.

Executive produced by Jane Campion, Abduction is masterfully told, and if you're wondering how this impacts you at all, the films implies that part of the reason Japan felt its hands were tied on this issue was that negotiations on nuclear weapons between North Korea and the rest of the world were being used by the North Korean government as a bargaining chip in retrieving information about the abducted Japanese. It's an ugly and scary world out there, and the gripping and powerful Abduction proves that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you; nor are they in any hurry to give you back. For those of you in Chicago, the film opens for a week-long run beginning this Friday at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Do no miss this movie.

Capone