Alien invaders, subterranean monsters, and supernatural creatures do not compare to the terrors that can come from mankind. There's whole world of human slavery and sex trafficking out there, and naturally Hollywood wants to use it to come up with stories for movies. The horrors of modern day slavery get pushed into daylight for your observation in these five sex trafficking movies that will make you lose your faith in humanity.
“Taken”
Despite the overt mannerisms of a young girl adopted by the woman playing Liam Neeson’s daughter at the beginning of “Taken," the rest of the film manages to convey the filth that is the world of sex trafficking without applying too much Hollywood sheen. The secret brothel on construction grounds makes a scene that only hints at how terrible the sold girls’ lives are but still stands as a scene that should haunt you.
“The Day My God Died”
The abduction of girls and women by familiar people adds a new dimension of horror to the sickening world of human slavery for the purposes of sex trafficking. “The Day My God Died” puts faces to statistics as it tells the tales of the victims from their beginning onward with a powerful focus on respecting the whole story and not just sound bites. As the camera sweeps through Mumbai’s Kamathipura district you receive a stomach-churning sense of the magnitude of the practice of slavery that makes for a scene that should shake your faith in humanity.
“The Whistleblower”
The impunity with which traffickers act with the spectre of authority groups out to stop them is galling. Of course, some of these groups actually engage in their active endorsement, which is stunning and scary in “The Whistleblower." Benedict Cumberpatch brings his stunning acting to this film along with Straithaim and Weisz, forming a trio of talent that conveys the story without dilution. Weisz’s tour of the brothel where she gains the knowledge of who the girls were truly tasked for is a scene of terrible revelation.
“Trade”
The reality of sex trafficking will always trump the fiction but “Trade” does attack the heart of the matter with its focus on the victims’ feelings of isolation, fear and hopelessness. The treatment of the girls as expendable commodities is particularly disheartening for anyone’s belief in the continuation of humanity. Veronica’s succinct curse before her suicide is a scene that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck with the knowledge that her choice to be free meant she had to choose to give up her life.
“The Girl Who Played with Fire”
The second piece of the Millenium Series trilogy, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” has Lisbeth Salander framed by a prostitution ring and the various government and criminal elements that keep this trafficking group safe from the law. With a strong emphasis on physical and emotional violence on women, the horrific objectification of women is put front and center for the audience to digest. Niedermann’s vile interrogation of Lisbeth’s friend Miriam is sure to sour your stomach on humanity as well as keep the subject of sex trafficking on your mind.
“Born into Brothels”
By tackling the additional issue of the children born to the victims of the sex trafficking trade, “Born into Brothels” shows the additional repercussions of sex slavery. The individual turned into commodity replenishes itself through birth, at which the horror of slavery becomes a cycle that spins on past the death of the original victim as she gives birth to her children that become her replacement. Although there isn’t one scene that won’t affect your faith in the world, Briski’s dealings with the red tape and bureaucracy behind ration cards are multiple little moments of frustration that will give you that terrible feeling of impotence mixed with rage at the political mountain that must be climbed to help your fellow man.
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