Foreign Policy Blogs

The Whistleblower (2010)

the_whistleblower_2010_ws_r1-cd-Www.GetCovers.Net_2Sex trafficking.
It happens all over the world but is largely invisible to most.
What The Whistleblower (a drama, not a documentary) does is expose it as it occurred in Bosnia in 1999, four years after the Dayton Accord was reached.
Rachel Weisz plays Kathryn Bolkovac, a police officer from Nebraska who joins the United Nations force to maintain order and the rule of law.

She’s a good cop but a poor mate as she had been divorced twice. Part of the reason she joins the U.N. is to make some good money fast so she can move closer to her children, the custody of whom was awarded to her ex-husband.
After Bolkovac helps a Muslim woman win a case of domestic abuse, she became head of gender affairs.
What she eventually discovers is an illicit sex trade ring in which young women are imprisoned and raped. What is disturbing is that it is being aided and in some cases run by U.N. soldiers and private contractors with the United States government.
Bolkovac feels the need to protect one young woman but realizes she can’t.
Weisz does an excellent job of letting the realization of what was really going on dawn on her gradually. David Strathairn and Vanessa Redgrave also play engaging characters.
There’s also a level of paranoia in this thriller: Who can Bolkovac trust? How high up does the conspiracy to cover up the sex trafficking go?
The Whistleblower is excellent and is available to rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]

 

Author

Sean Patrick Murphy

Sean Patrick Murphy is a graduate of Bennington College, where he majored in politics and Latin American literature. He has worked for Current History magazine, Physicians for Human Rights, and Citizens for Global Solutions (formerly the World Federalist Association). He lives outside Philadelphia.

Areas of Focus:
Cinematography; Independent Films; Documentary;

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