There’s no easy job description, or rest for that matter, for Roger Carstens, officially the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs (SPERA) until just this January. Carstens was one of the negotiators behind aiding Brittney Griner to freedom as well as the release of Russia-held prisoners Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan. Now, in Adam Ciralsky and Subrata De’s moving and effectively edited documentary “Take No Prisoners,” we see the fallout and wrongful detention of Eyvin Hernandez, a public defender hailing from California who, in 2022, was arrested in Venezuela and held there by current president Nicolás Maduro.
Ciralsky and De follow Carstens throughout the state department, on the private jets that shuttle him to prisoner exchanges, and all the way to Caracas, where he eventually helped free Eyvin Hernandez in 2023. As the film points out, we’ve seen a 175 percent increase in wrongful detentions over the last decade — from Robert Lenvinson to Trevor Reed — and it often occurs in countries trying to affect change in policy, using prisoners as political pawns, such as in China, Russia, Iran, Syria, and as we see, Venezuela. Unfortunately, Eyvin Hernandez was held at one of Venezuela’s most notorious prisons, called The House of Dreams, but as one of Hernandez’s family members point out, it should be called the House of Nightmares.
There, Venezuela’s General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence holds political prisoners it suspects of being foreign agents, which is why the government arrested Hernandez at the border while on a trip to Colombia. The filmmaking on “Take No Prisoners” isn’t especially standout — this is a political statement and not necessarily an immersively cinematic one, though the rare access to and footage of Carstens often makes for a thrilling narrative. Editor Scott Sheppard interweaves footage of Hernandez’s family in heart-rending emotional moments, recollecting Hernandez’s prison sentence and their own efforts to help get him out. It would have been additionally fascinating, too, to hear and see more about the many other wrongful detainees this documentary name-drops, though ultimately, it keeps the focus on Hernandez.
Among the talking heads here is former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who outlines Carstens’ singular approach, which is a mix of empathy toward the families affected but also keen negotiation abilities in and of themselves. The access the filmmakers have here, with Carstens showing an openness in front of the camera that allows the documentary crew to understand part of his psychological approach. “Take No Prisoners” is most heart-tugging, though, when it chronicles how Hernandez’s family, after he was freed, has pivoted to activism in the hopes that there not be another Hernandez in history. Of course, there is every day.
Grade: B
“Take No Prisoners” premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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