Rated
R (Disturbing Violent Content including a Brutal Sexual Assault, Graphic Nudity
and Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 52 Minutes
Cast-
Rachel
Weisz-Kathryn Bolkovac
Vanessa
Redgrave-Madeleine Rees
David
Strathairn-Peter Ward
Monica
Bellucci-Laura Leviani
Roxana
Condurache-Raya
Paula
Schramm-Luba
Nikolaj
Lie Kaas-Jan Van Der Velde
Directed
by Larysa Kondracki
 |
| Rachel Weisz delivers a searing performance in Larysa Kondricki's directorial debut "The Whistleblower." |
The
Bosnian War (1992-1995) is one of the most devastating armed conflicts in
Europe since the end of World War II, one that left cities reduced to
rubble, untold amounts of casualties, an estimated 2.2 million people displaced,
and a painful scar seared into the memories of the survivors and their
descendants that continues to be felt even today. The aftermath of the Yugoslav
Wars left an environment that became infested with crime, allowing human sex
trafficking to flourish and those in positions of authority to prey on
defenseless young women while others who were aware of the problem look on with
indifference and apathy. Former Nebraska police officer Kathryn Bolkovac served
as a member of the United Nations International Police Force and later as a
human rights investigator during the late 1990’s but wound up exposing a
massive scandal revealing U.N. peace keepers participating in the trafficking
of Eastern European girls, the majority of which were underage. Unfortunately, the
damning allegations led to Bolkovac being demoted and eventually fired as the
U.N. and private military contractor DynCorp International (who had a $15 million
contract to hire and train police officers for duty in Bosnia) tried to
cover-up and thwart those investigating. Bolkovac managed to win her wrongful
termination suit amidst a London labor tribunal and her experiences are
recounted in the novel The Whistleblower:
Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors, and One Woman's Fight for Justice,
released in June 2011. Although the film adaptation suffers from some
inexperienced direction from Larysa Kondracki, Rachel Weisz delivers an amazing
performance as Bolkovac as it explores without compromise the brutality faced
by victims of human sex trafficking and the men who willingly allow such
atrocious crimes to go unpunished.
Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) is a recently divorced police officer in Lincoln, Nebraska who has hit a dead end in her career and is struggling to find a new place to live so she could be close by to her children. Sensing her frustration, her police captain hands her a brochure from Democra Services (standing in for DynCorp), a private corporation contracted by the United Nations who is looking for monitors to work with the local Bosnian police and UN peacekeepers. With benefits that include a tax free $100,000 salary, Bolkovac applies without hesitation and is shipped off to war-torn Bosnia, still suffering from the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars. After assisting in earning justice for a Muslim woman abused by her husband, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Madeleine Rees (Vanessa Redgrave) promotes Bolkovac to the gender affairs office and while there, she gradually discovers the seedy underbelly of human sex trafficking. As her investigation continues, aided by internal affairs officer Peter Ward (David Strathairn), Bolkovac finds evidence of involvement from UN peacekeepers but is hampered at every turn by corporate bureaucrats who care for nothing except their bottom-line and are desperate to avoid a scandal.
“The Whistleblower” follows the usual trajectory of similar tales but ends with the bitter reality that justice was not served and those who participated and perpetuated human sex trafficking were punished with a slap on the wrist. Although liberties were taken as expected and some characters are composites, the film is brutally uncompromising which will limit its appeal among mainstream audiences. We are introduced to two fifteen-year old Ukrainian girls, Raya (Roxana Condurache) and Luba (Paula Schramm), who are partying at a nightclub in Kiev. Raya’s in-law promises them high-paying jobs at a Swiss hotel but instead has them sold into sexual slavery in post-war Bosnia. Glimpses of Bolkovac’s personal life are shown but it’s all glossed over as the film moves quickly to her arrival at Bosnia where her job entails ‘training and advising local Bosnian police officers on democratic principles and rebuilding the country after the war’ (Anna Maltby, Marie Claire.com). The Bosnian War, and the Yugoslav Wars in general, were characterized by extreme ethnic strife and in one scene, Bolkovac facilitates with the local police involving a Muslim women beaten and stabbed by her husband. None of the officers are willing to take the case because they feel that she deserved it simply for being Muslim until one brave soul speaks up over the protestation of his compatriots. It always amazes me that people in this day and age still judge others based on the color of their skin or their religious beliefs. Despite all the talks of progress being made and the great strides for equality, we’ve only just become better at hiding our own prejudices.
Once Bolkovac begins to actively investigate her fellow U.N. peacekeepers, she hits a roadblock because all of them are protected by diplomatic immunity, essentially giving them free reign to do whatever they want. If they were to commit a crime, they will not be prosecuted. A seedy bar is shown where pictures of various under-aged girls being sexually abused are plastered on the wall and the living conditions are horrific. The only reaction you feel is rage. The corporate bureaucracy is ineffective and bound by red tape but the worst is that they are aware of the problem yet will not lift a finger to intervene. Democra (or DynCorp) has billions of dollars in contracts with the United Nations so to avoid a scandal of this magnitude and protect their profit margins they sweep it all under the rug and write it off as collateral damage. During a daring raid by Bolkovac and a kind-hearted Bosnian officer, she finds Raya and we feel that everything will be made right again as typical Hollywood productions go. However, a group of male U.N. peacekeepers arrive who accuse Bolkovac of authorizing the raid without going through the proper protocol. All the trafficking victims immediately recognize the men by the fear in their eyes and Bolkovac pleads with Raya to come with her. However, she reluctantly refuses because she fears retaliation and tears welled up in my eyes as I knew the film would not end well. The final minutes involve Bolkovac, now fired, aided by Peter Ward as she breaks into her own office, steal back the case files and go public. This provides some measure of relief but the end captions reveal that all those involved, while forced to resign under suspicion of illegal activity, never faced criminal charges against them due to diplomatic immunity. “The Whistleblower” isn’t subtle in depicting the horrors of human trafficking but tip-toeing around the issue isn’t effective and while some may find the brutality exploitative, it’s necessary in order to shake people out of their apathy.
Although the assembled cast is impressive, this is really Rachel Weisz’s show and she is absolutely engaging as Bolkovac despite looking ‘too pretty’ for the role. She has a steely determination about her and a quiet simmering rage that the actress captured really well. Weisz will most likely garner some awards nominations but unfortunately, I’m not too keen on her winning as the film is not backed by a big marketing campaign, which means it’ll get lost in the shuffle come fall. A presence at the Academy Awards is a stretch because the judges are notorious for having a short-term memory. The rest of the cast, which includes Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn, and Monica Bellucci, have very minor roles but they give adequate performances.
Premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and finally in limited release on August 5, 2011, “The Whistleblower” has received mixed reviews with 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics commented that ‘Rachel Weisz puts on a compelling smoldering act though the film suffers from a literal-minded approach to the material,’ which I find puzzling because I feel its matter-of-factness in presenting the material is one of the film’s strengths. There’s no need for embellishment to make it more ‘cinematic.’ As this is a low-budget production (it was shot in a mere 36 days in Romania) based on a topical social issue, box office isn’t a real concern but the film has made $61,002 from seven theaters and has received various awards from a number of film festivals around the country. “The Whistleblower” can be a hard film to watch, its brutally harrowing depictions of sexual abuse barely scratch the surface but it’s a story that needed to be told. When it comes to something like human sex trafficking, there’s no place for subtlety.
Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) is a recently divorced police officer in Lincoln, Nebraska who has hit a dead end in her career and is struggling to find a new place to live so she could be close by to her children. Sensing her frustration, her police captain hands her a brochure from Democra Services (standing in for DynCorp), a private corporation contracted by the United Nations who is looking for monitors to work with the local Bosnian police and UN peacekeepers. With benefits that include a tax free $100,000 salary, Bolkovac applies without hesitation and is shipped off to war-torn Bosnia, still suffering from the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars. After assisting in earning justice for a Muslim woman abused by her husband, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Madeleine Rees (Vanessa Redgrave) promotes Bolkovac to the gender affairs office and while there, she gradually discovers the seedy underbelly of human sex trafficking. As her investigation continues, aided by internal affairs officer Peter Ward (David Strathairn), Bolkovac finds evidence of involvement from UN peacekeepers but is hampered at every turn by corporate bureaucrats who care for nothing except their bottom-line and are desperate to avoid a scandal.
“The Whistleblower” follows the usual trajectory of similar tales but ends with the bitter reality that justice was not served and those who participated and perpetuated human sex trafficking were punished with a slap on the wrist. Although liberties were taken as expected and some characters are composites, the film is brutally uncompromising which will limit its appeal among mainstream audiences. We are introduced to two fifteen-year old Ukrainian girls, Raya (Roxana Condurache) and Luba (Paula Schramm), who are partying at a nightclub in Kiev. Raya’s in-law promises them high-paying jobs at a Swiss hotel but instead has them sold into sexual slavery in post-war Bosnia. Glimpses of Bolkovac’s personal life are shown but it’s all glossed over as the film moves quickly to her arrival at Bosnia where her job entails ‘training and advising local Bosnian police officers on democratic principles and rebuilding the country after the war’ (Anna Maltby, Marie Claire.com). The Bosnian War, and the Yugoslav Wars in general, were characterized by extreme ethnic strife and in one scene, Bolkovac facilitates with the local police involving a Muslim women beaten and stabbed by her husband. None of the officers are willing to take the case because they feel that she deserved it simply for being Muslim until one brave soul speaks up over the protestation of his compatriots. It always amazes me that people in this day and age still judge others based on the color of their skin or their religious beliefs. Despite all the talks of progress being made and the great strides for equality, we’ve only just become better at hiding our own prejudices.
Once Bolkovac begins to actively investigate her fellow U.N. peacekeepers, she hits a roadblock because all of them are protected by diplomatic immunity, essentially giving them free reign to do whatever they want. If they were to commit a crime, they will not be prosecuted. A seedy bar is shown where pictures of various under-aged girls being sexually abused are plastered on the wall and the living conditions are horrific. The only reaction you feel is rage. The corporate bureaucracy is ineffective and bound by red tape but the worst is that they are aware of the problem yet will not lift a finger to intervene. Democra (or DynCorp) has billions of dollars in contracts with the United Nations so to avoid a scandal of this magnitude and protect their profit margins they sweep it all under the rug and write it off as collateral damage. During a daring raid by Bolkovac and a kind-hearted Bosnian officer, she finds Raya and we feel that everything will be made right again as typical Hollywood productions go. However, a group of male U.N. peacekeepers arrive who accuse Bolkovac of authorizing the raid without going through the proper protocol. All the trafficking victims immediately recognize the men by the fear in their eyes and Bolkovac pleads with Raya to come with her. However, she reluctantly refuses because she fears retaliation and tears welled up in my eyes as I knew the film would not end well. The final minutes involve Bolkovac, now fired, aided by Peter Ward as she breaks into her own office, steal back the case files and go public. This provides some measure of relief but the end captions reveal that all those involved, while forced to resign under suspicion of illegal activity, never faced criminal charges against them due to diplomatic immunity. “The Whistleblower” isn’t subtle in depicting the horrors of human trafficking but tip-toeing around the issue isn’t effective and while some may find the brutality exploitative, it’s necessary in order to shake people out of their apathy.
Although the assembled cast is impressive, this is really Rachel Weisz’s show and she is absolutely engaging as Bolkovac despite looking ‘too pretty’ for the role. She has a steely determination about her and a quiet simmering rage that the actress captured really well. Weisz will most likely garner some awards nominations but unfortunately, I’m not too keen on her winning as the film is not backed by a big marketing campaign, which means it’ll get lost in the shuffle come fall. A presence at the Academy Awards is a stretch because the judges are notorious for having a short-term memory. The rest of the cast, which includes Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn, and Monica Bellucci, have very minor roles but they give adequate performances.
Premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and finally in limited release on August 5, 2011, “The Whistleblower” has received mixed reviews with 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics commented that ‘Rachel Weisz puts on a compelling smoldering act though the film suffers from a literal-minded approach to the material,’ which I find puzzling because I feel its matter-of-factness in presenting the material is one of the film’s strengths. There’s no need for embellishment to make it more ‘cinematic.’ As this is a low-budget production (it was shot in a mere 36 days in Romania) based on a topical social issue, box office isn’t a real concern but the film has made $61,002 from seven theaters and has received various awards from a number of film festivals around the country. “The Whistleblower” can be a hard film to watch, its brutally harrowing depictions of sexual abuse barely scratch the surface but it’s a story that needed to be told. When it comes to something like human sex trafficking, there’s no place for subtlety.
Final
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
“I
was dumb enough to think I'd be joining some elite police officers here.”
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