The work of war correspondents appears in television reports, newspaper articles and books, but Maryam Keshavarz, an American director of Iranian origin, is interested in an aspect of their work that we know almost nothing about. She adopts the perspective of the family of a person who has chosen this highly dangerous line of work. The main character of Viper Club is a middle-aged woman named Helen. Fearful and anxious, she awaits her beloved son’s return. Her worst nightmare comes true when he’s taken hostage by a terrorist organization that demands a ransom. Helen, who works as a nurse, hits her head every day on a wall of indifference from the public authorities that are supposed to help her. Slowly losing hope, frustrated and lonely, she’s hanging by a thread until she meets Charlotte, a member of an enigmatic group with considerable experience in this type of situation. Cutting between the present and a series of flashbacks, Viper Club is a story of motherly love, desperation and a piercing feeling of loss. These emotions are portrayed with wonderful sensitivity by the great Susan Sarandon.