Trade (2007) - Movie

If it were not for the connection between this film and reality, it would be mediocre enough for a non-recommendation. Based purely on merit, I don't think I would give Trade a positive recommendation. But every time I found myself bogged down by weak pacing or hammy acting, I reminded myself about the connection between this film and reality. Sex Trafficking exists. And this film delivers a disturbing glimpse into that world. If nothing else, it succeeds in creating awareness.

The sex slave trade (trafficking) is alive and well. It is not some distant reality that continues to persist in Africa or Eastern Europe. It is right under our own noses in the United States. Much of the problem originates in Mexico and our porous borders (another excellent reason...along with terrorism, to secure our borders). It seems illegal immigration is not always voluntary. According to Trade, between 50,000 and 100,000 women and children are illegally transported into the United States to feed our sex trade. I am always suspicious of "movie numbers" which tend to be inflated. Trade affirms that suspicion. I checked independently and found the numbers to be less than 20,000 per year. I hate when films do this, because it does nothing to help their cause. 20,000 illegal entries per year by people who are being forced into the sex trade? That is a disturbing statistic. I knew that it happens but had no idea that the issue was anywhere near that big.

I injected my own social commentary into the last paragraph intentionally. The film does not get bogged down in social commentary, but does take a few swipes regarding traditionally liberal issues. The story was based on an article in the New York Times written by Peter Landesman. Landesman also co-wrote the story with Jose Rivera who then adopted the project to screenplay format. With a connection to the Times, one should not be surprised to see some cheap social commentary slipped into the film. Unfortunately, it was not done seamlessly in the story line. It felt forced. The entire story is social commentary, so the liberal agenda items actually detracted from the broader story. Dumb move by the writers. Leave your commentary for the editorial page. Minor spoilers ahead.

For a Times writer, I was a bit surprised at some of the writing. Although the overall approach was thoughtful, the actual dialogue left a lot to be desired. To allow viewers to understand the sourcing of the sex trade, the writers follow two girls with different backgrounds. Veronkia (Alicja Bachleda) is an adult female from Poland who has been tricked into the sex trade. Her back story is picked up on the fly during the film. The story primarily follows a thirteen-year-old Adriana (Paulina Gaitan), who is abducted from her own neighborhood in Mexico City. The girls end up thrown together at a "safe house" before their long trek North to New Jersey. They are pursued by Adriana's older brother Jorge (Cesar Ramos). Jorge manages to remain a step behind the girls, who are with an assortment of other girls and a young Asian boy who we never get to know.

Through a series of unlikely events, the story manages to keep Jorge hot on the heels of his sister's abductors. He eventually crosses paths with a sympathetic police officer, Ray Sheridan (Kevin Kline). Sheridan and Jorge run up against rigid and unresponsive bureaucracy in their pursuit of Adriana, before taking matters into their own hands. Combined with other federal officers at a border prison, the whole government angle felt over-played. Although Trade stretches credibility to the snapping point and delivered forgettable dialogue with slow pacing, the subject matter and some more exciting sequences managed to hold my attention. The character development also came slowly. We get to know the characters well enough to care about the outcome.

Trade contains subject matter that is not intended for younger viewers. It is a serious issue and is not delicately handled. Although there is no nudity, the film is fairly explicit in describing the abuse suffered by victims of sex trafficking. From subtle references like video cameras to more blatant rape scenes, the subject matter is difficult. Scenes that infer pedophilia create further discomfort. Young viewers are going to have a lot of questions. I personally would not expose pre-teens to the brutal depictions of rape and the child sex slave angle. Fifteen years old may be a good starting point for this film, which was rated R.

At 120 minutes, Trade felt long. There were stretches of drawn out drama that seemed boring. A decent heart-pumping soundtrack at the front end of the film sets up a great pace that is quickly squandered. The film gets side-tracked a few times (especially with useless social commentary), but delivers decent characters and an eye-opening story. The dialogue and pacing were definite downers in an otherwise decent story. Although predictable and far fetched, Trade managed to hold my attention because of its roots in reality. Inflating the numbers at the end of the film also took some credibility away from the story. It is an important issue that might have received greater attention if it were done better. 6/10.

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