TheBlueHairedLawyer I've been to places like Ecuador, Puerto Rico, etc. and they are not what is shown in this movie. This movie, while presenting an entertaining and compelling story, portrays the people in the country of Ecuador to be mainly sleazy thieves who lie, cheat and steal. In truth, yes there are people like that in the country, but there are people like that in the States and Canada too, most people there are as nice as anyone here, and by trying to dramatize the film I think this was forgotten. This is based on a true story, but I think it was twisted around a bit to get the ratings of viewers. I am also quite surprised that they would make a movie like this just because a US citizen went through the jail system. It's jail, what, were they expecting jail to have flowers and free stuff everywhere? Of course it's going to seem inhumane, it's a jail, a punishment facility, not a daycare center! While I'm on the subject, how come we make a film about a US woman suffering in an Ecuadorian jail? What's so special about her? What about the harsh treatment immigrants coming to the US get all the time? What makes this woman so special? The acting wasn't very good either, the daughter of the woman was very boring and kind of a ditz.

evening1 Very-well-acted drama based on the jailing of an American tourist on trumped-up drug charges in Ecuador.Barbara Hershey is convincing as a woman from Hollywood, Fla., who takes her first trip outside of the US only to get thrown into brutal, filthy El Inca prison, where the guards are sexual predators and inmates act as enforcers.Rachel Leigh Cook excels as Chase's daughter, who suffers a psychological imprisonment of her own knowing how her mother suffers in a sordid place in which she can't speak the language, lacks treatment for her scleroderma, and gets beaten and robbed with regularity.Strong supporting performances come from Colombian actress Rita Bendak, as a cruelly manipulative lifer, and Cristina Marchand playing a nun who risks her own safety to help the Chase family.After many disappointing twists and turns, and 22 months that left her wobbly but still on her feet, Chase won her freedom in 2007, with the help of Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville). The movie concludes with what looks like actual footage of the real Chase and her daughter ecstatically embracing at their airport reunion. If you follow the National Geographic Channel series "Locked Up Abroad," this movie may seem like the extended version of a particularly gripping episode. In all, it's a sobering reminder that life can take some unlikely and deeply troubling detours.

flh462002 It's another in the "Americans are never guilty" parade of films. The notion that US citizens are always duped victims in drug smuggling cases is naive at best. While they may not deliberately smuggle drugs in all cases, having worked in travel for many years I can declare that US citizens can be extremely gullible when abroad and equally gullible that "I'm a US citizen" immunizes them from local laws. This is a quite nicely predictable "US citizen unjustly imprisoned" film, and all the predictable people are evil and in league against the poor US citizen. That Americans are naive does not mean they are immune to legal consequences. "I was suckered" is too frequently heard abroad to serve as a defense. And being familiar with Ecuadorian government and law, I can say that they are not exactly the rampant fascists portrayed in this film

ivegonemod I thought this was a very well done movie; very depressing obviously. I do not know the true story, but am going to look it up in a few. I thought the acting was good, they did everything they were supposed to do, maybe the brother could have tightened up his skills a bit. I thought Vincent as Nick was quite good, even though he wasn't focused on very much.Since I don't know the real story, I'm still confused where Nick's involvement in the drugs is concerned. Was he really behind that? I can't see what sense it makes him putting the drugs in Barbara's character's luggage, when since he was with her he'd get arrested anyway if she was caught.Some things in the movie were not explained very well. How long did she know Nick? Did Nick do it, did he get out?