RESCUE: Drew Davis and Taraji Henson star in “Taken From Me.”
In 2008 in Queens, a little boy, Kobe Lee, was abducted from the custody of his mother, Tiffany Rubin, by the boy’s father who had been allowed a weeklong vacation with Kobe. They were supposed to be going to Disney World. Instead, he illegally brought the boy to South Korea. And thus began the worst nightmare of Rubin’s life.
Tonight, Lifetime’s “Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin story” does a good job of re-creating the horror Rubin endured from the moment she discovered that her son had gone missing to the morass of legal, political and international red tape to get authorities to investigate to even find out if he’d been taken out of the country.
Then, word came back that he’d been taken to South Korea. However, according to the laws of that country, Lee, who did not have custody in the US, automatically gained legal custody in South Korea.
The movie opens with public school teacher Rubin (Taraji Henson), her new husband, Chris (David Hayden-Jones), her mom (Beverly Todd) and Kobe at a church picnic in Queens.
Chris and Kobe have formed a tight father-son bond, and Chris and his new mother-in-law see eye-to-eye on most things — especially when it comes to Rubin’s ex, Jeff Lee (Sean Baek). They don’t think Rubin should allow Lee to take Kobe out of state. But she feels the boy should be allowed to spend time with his biological dad. But when Rubin can’t reach Kobe on cell, she calls the hotel and is told they never checked in.
Thus begins a nightmare that lasted over a year. If having your child abducted is every parent’s worst nightmare, then Rubin, in turn, became the worst nightmare the authorities ever could imagine. She was not going to let them forget about her child. Even though she doesn’t trust her mother’s pastor’s connections (the last one was a terrible accountant who lost their money), she eventually takes his lead and reaches out to Mark Miller (Terry O’Quinn of “Lost“) of the American Association of Lost Children.
At first, Miller tells her that because of the extradition laws and the fact that Lee has legal custody of Kobe in South Korea, there is no legal way to get him back. So Rubin has to kidnap her own child. Miller tells her he can’t assist her in the illegal “kidnapping” — but also can’t let her go it alone, and so he goes with her.
The actual re-abduction and pursuit by her ex, the attempt to get into the American embassy in Seoul literally seconds after it closed for the day, and somehow getting the cooperation of the embassy will keep you on the edge of your seat and rip out your heart in the process.
Good, five-Kleenex weeper.