NEW Whistleblower (DVD)

"The Whistleblower," based on a true story, is a gritty movie about sexual trafficking in Bosnia. Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz), a Nebraska cop, is a divorced mom who takes a job with a security contractor for big pay and a short tour in the Balkans. She discovers that ethnic tensions have caused local cops to refuse to investigate domestic violence cases, particularly those involving Muslims. She is promoted and put in charge of gender affairs by a U.N. official (Vanessa Redgrave), but is increasingly frustrated. After building cases against sexual traffickers, she's told they enjoy diplomatic immunity.

Bolkovac is a lone crusader, persuading fearful women to testify against their abusers, bucking diplomatic hypocrisy, and dealing with rampant paranoia. Ms. Weisz heads this topical political thriller, turning in a powerful performance, one of her best. The movie underscores the collateral damage caused by politics and maintaining the delicate balance of world peace, though it's far more compelling as one strong woman's efforts to advocate for those without a voice.

The sole special feature on this release, available in Blu-ray and DVD editions, is a featurette about real-life whistleblower Kathy Bolkovac.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER is a film that kicks you in the stomach and then continues to play out the worst possible truths that we'd rather not admit exist. The theme of the film is Human Trafficking, and apparently there are about 2.5 million victims around the world today - young people who are sold into sexual slavery for the financial gain of people from all areas of life, including our own government, the International Practices Task Force, and contracted companies supported by the US Government to rebuild who are assigned to third world countries and countries besieged by or recovering from war, and in our own cities in this country. This film is based on a true story, a story written (and discussed in the bonus track on the DVD) by Kathryn Bolkovac who was transferred from her police job in Lincoln, Nebraska to Bosnia (with the promise of $100,000. and a six month term) to monitor the local Sarajevo police and advise them on proper police procedures. Bolkovac's story was written for the screen by Eilis Kirwan and director Larysa Kondracki who also directed the story with stinging reality.

Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) is a recently divorced mother of a young girl who has lost custody of her daughter because of her constant commitment to her job. When she is offered a lot of money and an advancement if she will go to Bosnia on a special assignment she accepts, feeling that if she ha money she can return home to live close to her young daughter. When she arrives in Sarajevo she is treated with distance from the colleagues with whom she will be working. Her first accomplishment is bringing to justice the abuse of a Muslim woman who has been constantly a victim of spousal abuse - something not considered a crime until Kathryn proves it in court. She soon discovers that there is a human trafficking problem in Bosnia where young girls are brought into the country, sold as sex slaves to tend to the needs and whims and cruel and often sadistic whims of the IPTF (International Practices Task Force) as well as the US and international soldiers assigned by the UN to cover the recovery of Bosnia. She visits the bars where the girls are kept, finds evidence of physical violence and abuse in the filth of the atrocious living conditions the girls are subjected to, and begins her attempts to save the girls - particularly Raya (Roxana Condurache) and Luba (Paula Schramm) whom she promises to protect if they will testify about their conditions. Kathryn seeks solace from a Dutch compatriot boyfriend Jan (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and takes her case to the UN person in charge (Monica Bellucci) who is a by-the-rules leader and cannot offer help to Kathryn. Kathryn is contacted by Madeleine Rees (Vanessa Redgrave), the High Commissioner for Human Rights who aids her in her plight and puts her in contact with Peter Ward (David Strathairn), in Internal Affairs chief of the UN complex. Kathryn finally discovers that the perpetrators of the human trafficking are the very people with whom she works and she is ultimately fired from her position. But before she leaves she releases the documents she has created that prove the victims of human trafficking are under the direction and service of the employees of the UN - in many ways her dangerous mission has been accomplished and the Democra, a security contractor, is exposed.

Rachel Weisz brings a very human quality to her role, making her transformation into a heroine for the abused victims all the more credible. Her performance is outstanding - and in the conversation with the real life Kathryn Bolkovac in the bonus feature with the film the manner in which Weisz succeeded in her role is all the more impressive. This is a tough movie to watch, but it is a necessary statement to make the heinous crime of human trafficking more widely known and punished throughout the world. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 12

Certainly the issue of sex slavery, human trafficking, and enforced prostitution has been raised before in film. Nevertheless, I select "this story" as the most harrowing of them all. Ironically, it is persuasive by not being overly graphic. But the discovery of the crime and the efforts of a lone crusader - a moral police woman - to try to stop this in Bosnia and protect the girls is truly gut wrenching. What sticks in my mind is how much corruption exists in all levels of local, foreign, and U.N. agencies.

This is not just a worthwhile movie, it is a necessary one. Unlike a few other reviewers, I did not find the pace slow; the scriptwriter took time to set the stage and let the facts flow naturally - making the movie an astonishingly tense thriller. I have the highest regard for Rachel Weisz's performance - one of her best. Indeed all the performances are realistic and top notch.

I never felt that the director was exploiting the subject matter to show either sex or violence. Instead the director focuses on the fear in the victims' eyes and body language when they are given the choice to testify against their aggressors...or not. That says it all.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 23 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars