Review of Trade

Trade (I) (2007)
10/10
Not for the Feint of Heart
30 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This movie...is not a feel good movie. It doesn't give you the warm-fuzzy's. As a matter of fact, this movie made me realize just how sick and demented humanity can really and truly be.

Right off the bat, we're introduced to Jorge and his younger sister Adriana, it's her 13th birthday. Jorge gets her a new bike, much to his mother's chagrin. She decides to take it for a spin one day, and unfortunately finds herself in captivity.

Adriana is thrown into this downward spiraling world of sick sick sick people. The only solace she finds is in a much older fellow captive named Veronica, a Polish girl. Their only common ground is that they both speak a small bit of English. Veronica treats Adriana with a sister-like love, and defends her honor and sticks up for her if, and when at all possible.

Jorge, meanwhile, is left alone, distraught, and at a loss. He finds aide in a detective from Texas named Ray(played brilliantly by Kline), whom he finds curiously investigating one of the holding areas that Adriana was being detained. Together, they use what resources Ray has to save Adriana from inevitable slavery and hopefully put an end to whatever system was being run out of the United States.

This is not a movie for young children or even older ones at that. Rape and child molestation is rampant. If you are queasy from watching that kind of human waste, then consider yourself normal, and you may not want to watch this. I, felt the need to watch it, it truly opened my eyes in a way that earlier releases on Juarez, Mexico and other Mexican border towns just didn't. Think of it as similar to Schindler's List.

Kevin Kline said it best. (paraphrased in so many words from the bonus features in the DVD) If you're reading the newspaper, and the world's events, god willing that's what they still are, and you read it from cover to cover, and you think "hmmm....I should do something about that." Then perhaps this movie will inspire you.

This film was emotionally jarring to the very core. That being said, this film was fantastic beyond any assumption I had; and I had high expectations going into this. It's moving, it stirs the mind, it makes you THINK. Personally, I think that's important in this day and age.
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