When I reviewed a little film called Slave earlier this month, I made a statement saying that I would spend a decent amount of time talking about movies that deal with human trafficking. I figured it would be the perfect month for it as it IS the Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. I had some time to really think about it and I made the decision to not actually spend the month talking about these movies. It’s a rough subject to bring up and spending the month talking about it would’ve resulted in me writing myself into depression. I’m no good to my readers like that and it certainly wouldn’t help me fight this thing in my own way, which is why I’m doing this. I’m still going to cover this subject through movies as it is an important issue to discuss. What I’m going to do instead is do maybe one or two movies a month that deal with trafficking. That way, I can still keep the discussion alive while keeping while not ending up in a depressed state about the situation. With that in mind, I’m going to use this post to cover the best and worst movies that deal with human trafficking. I’m going to base my selections on how each film handles the subject and how it actually affects the narrative. So, with that out of the way, let’s take a look at some movies that handle this atrocity.
Worst – Rambo: Last Blood
I’m not going to lie: I love this movie. It’s a Rambo movie. I’ve been a fan of this series for years. It’s one of the most iconic characters that Sylvester Stallone has played. Last Blood follows John Rambo as he tries to find his adopted niece when she’s kidnapped and forced into prostitution by a ruthless Mexican cartel. This story idea was in Stallone’s head since long before the fourth film was released. Tackling human trafficking in an action film isn’t a bad idea. Far from it. When handled correctly, the audience is generally on the edge of their seat for the entire run time. The problem is that the film doesn’t really seem to take the issue seriously as the whole trafficking aspect is glossed over in the span of about 15-20 minutes. These films have always had their feet in the politics and social issues of the times that they’re released in and Last Blood is no different. The problem here is the trafficking thing is used as an excuse for Rambo to go on a brutal and violent rampage. I’m okay with that, if the film really had something new to say about the subject and it doesn’t. The run time is too short and we don’t spend enough time with the characters to really connect with them when the shit hits the fan. As a Rambo film, it’s pretty good. As a statement on the issue of human trafficking, it sucks.
The Best – Apartment 407
This one is pretty good actually. Apartment 407 follows a Pilates instructor as she’s invited to a studio to audition for being a model when she’s drugged and forced into prostitution. Instead of focusing on the sex trade as a whole, this film focuses on one person’s experience. It’s not an easy film to sit through and there are moments where you are questioning a character’s choices. What really sets this film apart from a lot of others in the genre is that the character of Isabel is played by Swedish actress Frida Ferrell, who herself was a victim of sex trafficking when she was in London. For her to take on a role that hits so close to home is an extraordinarily brave decision, and I wouldn’t have blamed her if she decided not to. I don’t think anybody would have. This whole film is loosely based on her experience, but it does shine a light on how a person can be taken advantage in certain situations. Again, it’s not an sit-through, but it is a good movie and the fact that is told by a person that actually experienced something like that makes it all the more poignant.
The Best and Worst – Eden
Eden follows Eden, a young Asian girl who finds herself abducted by human traffickers. In order to survive she plays their game and willingly starts working for them in order to escape. On the surface, it’s a pretty intense story and it’s fairly well-crafted even if the script seems kind of…standard at times. The film is bolstered by a great performance from Jamie Chung and the film does take the issue of sex trafficking seriously. On that level, it’s worth watching. There’s a problem, though. Shortly after the film’s initial release and solid reception by critics and audiences, certain organizations decided to do some digging into the actual story that the film is based on. It seems like the original story had issues with certain details and the author’s use of these organizations’ names to get her story out. If what the author said happened actually happened, there should have been a massive investigation that would have hit the airwaves, and there wasn’t. I’m not trying to accuse the author of lying, as I’m sure she experienced some what she said she went through, but there’s no direct evidence to suggest that this particular trafficking organization ever existed and some of the way the operation was portrayed in the film defies certain kinds of logic. Again, it takes the issue of sex trafficking seriously, and I applaud it for that, but throwing “Based on a True Story” on the DVD cover isn’t necessarily being truthful. This is why I tend to be wary of films that claim they are based on true events. Half the time it’s not true and it does a major disservice to the actual victims.
The Best – Trade
Trade follows two people: Ray and Jorge. Jorge is trying to find his little sister who was kidnapped by traffickers when he runs into Ray. Ray himself is trying to find his daughter who was kidnapped years ago, so they team up to try and find Jorge’s sister. Sometimes the best thrillers are the ones that aren’t action-packed but also feel the most personal. Trade is a solid film that really allows us to connect with the people involved. Kevin Kline puts on a fantastic performance as Ray as it is one of his more serious roles. At the time, Cesar Ramos was a newcomer to movies and he does a pretty good job here. Everyone does a fantastic job. To me, this is a good movie, because not only does it take the subject seriously, it does so in a fairly realistic way…..most of the time. Human trafficking is an insidious crime, but it’s even more so when it targets children. It’s a bit of a slow-burn, but the pay-off is worth it. I definitely recommend this one.
The Best – Furie
I know I’ve brought up Furie on this site a lot in the past year, but it’s such a good movie that it’s worth mentioning. Human trafficking isn’t just a thing that happens in United States or South America. It happens all over the world, especially in Far East. Furie follows Veronica Ngo’s Hai Phuong as she tracks down her daughter who has been abducted by organ traffickers. A movie dealing with human trafficking doesn’t have to be realistic in order to be compelling. It also should be entertaining on a certain level. Furie is an action film through and through. What makes this film work for me, at least, is not just Veronica’s performance, which is amazing, but also in how it approaches the situation. It’s not realistic, but the moment Hai realizes that her little girl is going to be cut up for parts makes her that much more desperate and the film more intense. This is an action film that knows how to keep it’s eye on the ball.
The Worst – Slave
I reviewed Slave a couple of weeks back and while I didn’t think it was a terrible film, it’s got enough issues to keep me from giving a full-blown recommendation. If you’re looking for real good movie dealing with human trafficking, look at some of the films I mentioned above. Slave follows a young couple as they head to Spain to celebrate….something. At a club, the girl ends up disappearing and the guy is left trying to figure out what happened while nobody seems to have seen anything. The problems with Slave are several. For one: The lead protagonist is complete and utter wimp who can’t even stand up to his own father. Two: The focus of the film changes about half-way from the guy, to the girl who ends up a sex slave on a boat. Movies like this work better when you don’t focus on the victim, ironically enough. The ending has a bit of a twist, but you’re still left with a feeling that this film accomplished….nothing, and that is the film’s greatest sin.
The Worst – Acts of Violence
If you’re going center an action film around human trafficking, you might actually want to give a rat’s ass about what’s going on. Acts of Violence is a by-the-numbers kidnap thriller that’s painfully predictable. It follows a small family of two brothers and their wives when one of the girls gets kidnapped. A third brother shows up and helps them look for her. This is about as generic a thriller can get without actually having Generic Thriller in the title. For the most part, the performances are decent enough, but Bruce Willis clearly doesn’t give a shit anymore about acting. When I said this film was predictable, I meant it. It goes exactly where you think it will go and ends the way you think it does. Again, this is a film that really has nothing to say about human trafficking other than to say it exists and essentially to make a mockery of it.
These are some of the best and worst movies that deal with human trafficking. The worst ones really aren’t awful, but they just don’t have a meaningful statement on the situation. They’re just kind of there to exploit the trade in a certain way. I will be looking at more movies that deal with this topic over the course of the year as they come out and some older ones. There are a lot of websites and organizations out there and on the internet that deal with human trafficking. I’m only going to list a few here, just to get you started. Otherwise, you can just google the term “human trafficking” and you’ll come up with a lot of different results.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
These are just a few of the organizations out there dedicated to fighting human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Just take a few minutes out of your day to check these websites out and learn more about what human trafficking is, how it effects people, and what you can do to fight it.