Saturday, March 14, 2009

Trade

So what is this one about?
Netflix told me,
Based on a New York Times Magazine story, this crime drama starring Kevin Kline delves into a sordid world of international sex trafficking that leads from Mexico City to a New Jersey stash house. In a bid to save kidnapped 13-year-old Adriana (Paulina Gaitan) before she's sold into sexual slavery, her desperate brother (Cesar Ramos) teams with a Texas cop (Kline). Can they find her before she vanishes into a hellish underworld?
before I watched it...because I'd never heard of it, and I watched it on "watch it now", therefore...

And how much did I pay to watch?
Nothing. (Because like I just said, I watched it on "watch it now")

And what did I think?
Well, considering I had never heard that this movie even existed, and therefore had no expectations of how it would be, it was actually pretty good.

You can pretty much always tell if a movie about human trafficking is good by how uncomfortable it makes you feel. There were parts that just turned my stomach during this one, as it well should. That showed me that the movie was much more realistic than other stupid ass movies that deal with human trafficking. (Doesn't that dumb movie Eastern Promises deal with that topic sort of??)

In a lot of ways I really liked that it was so gritty and difficult (with bad, bad things happening to the characters). The story was compelling and suspenseful (though a bit unbelievable in the ending). There were even some Russian mob aspects! (and what trafficking movie would be complete without those?) And even though, apparently, this movie was only in very limited release it did a good job of giving human trafficking a realistic and not very Hollywood treatment.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Overall, I was very pleased with this film. It was good, and because I didn't know it existed, and therefore had no expectations for it, I was even more pleased.

So, I'll give it a 7.

1 comment:

Capitulate Now said...

Woah! Hey! You didn't like eastern promises? Dude what is not to like about a movie where a naked Viggo Mortensen gets in a bathhouse fight and shoves a knife in a dude's eye? SHAZZAM!

Okay maybe I just really liked that scene.