Thriller inspired by the true story of Kathryn Bolkovac, an American policewoman who discovered US military involvement in child sex slavery and human trafficking in war-torn Bosnia. Stars Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz.
After volunteering to work as a peacekeeper in Bosnia, Bolkovac is horrified to discover that Democra Corp (a pseudonym for the real world DynCorp), an American military contracting company, is involved in child sex slavery and human trafficking. Risking her job and personal safety she sets out to bring the revelations to global attention but soon finds herself embroiled in a dangerous world of high level corruption populated by unlikely diplomatic enemies.
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke.
I found myself mumbling the above as I watched The Whistleblower. Heaven knows the things Burke was thinking of when he coined the phrase but it’s unlikely to have been of the calibre of evil covered in this film. Based on real events, a star-studded cast puts re-enactment to good use in an attempt to spread the word about human trafficking.
Rachel Weisz plays Kathryn Bolkovac, the real life inspiration behind this film; a woman who worked as a hired regulator for the UN sanctioned contractors in post-war Bosnia and, pretty early on, began to notice that things between the populace and the UN contractors were not as they should be.
There were moments when I had to turn away, guiltily knowing that this was a privilege none of the tormented were given. For the most part, however, I couldn’t; in the vein of Erin Brockovich, The Whistleblower shows grace under fire and is, as well as ethically important, a riveting drama to watch unfold.
All told, the film acts as a burning indictment of the behaviour of foreign nationals who, while pretending to act on the behalf of war-torn countries, predate on the victims of war themselves. I came away thinking that human trafficking is something everyone should know about, so that this particularly cruel brand of dehumanising has nowhere to hide.
By Lily Richards, Flicks.co.nz
Watching in horror throughout this film, I left feeling guilty that I take so many things for granted - my freedom, my family, my friends, lazy summer days at the beach, my health and job - when not really that far away on the other side of the world, people live in horrific war torn countries, enduring awful torture and slavery...I appreciate more the work of the UN now, but also realise there are more evil people in this world than I thought!
This has to be the most powerful and shocking fact-based movie we have ever seen. It is the story of people trafficking and sex slavery in Bosnia after the war for the express purpose of gratifying the needs of UN and contractor personnel. It exposes crimes and depravity, intrigue, corruption and cover-up committed by UN personnel and their contractor staff. Nevertheless, it is an important and shocking story that reveals not just the facts, but also the enormous courage of one who would not be intimidated, even in the face of likely execution. The strong cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn played excellent roles. We are divided in our opinion about some of the cinematography techniques used, but we all agree that this story could have been much more skilfully told with better direction. This is R16, with language, violence and brutality, both physical and emotional, in abundance; but is far from salacious. 4 stars.
Couldn't have asked for more from this movie. Leaving you asking how can people do this to others, and feeling just that bit guilty that they can.
This is really at least a 4+. A well acted and directed chronicle of I guess just some of the events in a post war Bosnia. The coruption of officials and their crony contractors is alarming to say the least. NBot to be missed.
Offers a glimpse of a monstrous world but doesn’t suggest any nuanced understanding of it.
A relentless and frightening thriller.
Doesn't flinch at grisly authenticity, and several sequences in Whistleblower are admittedly hard to watch.
The film’s narrow focus constrains a proper pullback to the larger picture.
This accomplished debut feature avoids most of the usual pitfalls, channeling its outrage into a tense, focused piece of storytelling with a powerful sense of empathy.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 24th Nov 2011.
Release date: November 24th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
