The Whistleblower

The Whistleblower (2010) is a movie based on the sad but true story of human trafficking by the employees of a firm contracted by the UN to provide security in Bosnia after the Dayton peace accord that put an end to the bloody conflict in the Balkans. Rachel Weisz plays Kathryn Bolkovac, a cop from Nebraska, who arrives in Bosnia to work for this firm and is seconded to the gender-affairs department. Weisz sees the stint as a much needed change of scene leaving behind a broken marriage, plus as an opportunity to improve her financial position given the compensation that comes with such a hardship-posting. The times are tough and the residues of communal hatred still linger - one situation shows the apathy of the local policemen towards a victim of domestic-abuse given that she is from the "other side". Weisz stumbles upon a racket of human trafficking that lures young girls into slavery who are abused by ruthless sadists -- all with the active connivance and involvement of some employees of the firm. Wiesz lone voice is silenced by the firm -- despite the support she receives from a plucky UN officer for gender-affairs, played by Vanessa Redgrave. Eventually, Rachel takes the sordid story, of protectors who have turned predators, to the media in the UK, where the firm is registered. Fighting workplace conspiracy that is fueled by apathy and greed can be lonesome and Wiesz portrayal of a gritty professional is engrossing. One is reminded of the roles of Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovich (2000) and Laura Dern in Damaged Care (TV 2002), standing up for what is right despite being stymied by the perpetrators whose acts have the undertones of gender-bias, and suffering the indignation while staying the course with deep conviction. The movie is spartan in production-value, driving home the truth that a good script and great performances are more than enough to tell a story. The story makes one wonder of the risks that arise out of the involvement of private enterprises in security and policing, notwithstanding the mandates under which they operate.

In 1999, in Nebraska, the police officer Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) sees the chance to raise money to be close to her teenage daughter, who lives with her father in another state, with the temporary assignment serving as U.N. peacemaker in Bosnia. The idealistic Kathryn believes that she can make the difference in a country devastated by the war, and she works hard and is promoted to director of her department. But soon she discloses a corruption and human trafficking ring with the direct participation of contractors and diplomats that have diplomatic immunity and she does not know who is reliable. "The Whistleblower" is a powerful, gripping and heartbreaking movie about corruption and human trafficking in a country devastated by the war. There are great movies about human trafficking and "The Whistleblower" has a plus since it is based on true events. Rachel Weisz has a top-notch performance in the role of the brave Kathryn Bolkovac, whose story can be easily found in Internet. Ms. Vanessa Redgrave and the always efficient David Strathairn lead the magnificent supporting cast. My vote is nine. Title (Brazil): "A Informante" ("The Whistleblower")

This film was great. As great as it is, it is also very important to tell the story of what went on here. All this being said, I find it hard to believe that every single man shown in this film, especially the ones that have nothing to do with the story line, were pigs. The movie seemed to generalize every man as being a sex crazed Dbag. Now do not get me wrong, I liked the movie, loved what it stood for and I am very aware of the significance of the story it tells. But I think it went way overboard to the point of explicit gender bashing. Historically accurate, I cannot say. If so then I take back my review. I would still recommend this movie.

Firstly, I have to say that I was greatly impressed at the quality of the movie because it was a Canadian production and to be honest, I have rarely seen us live up to the quality we are capable of achieving. Rachel Weisz has definitely grown as an actress from her days of doing the Mummy movies. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved her character in those movies but I never would believe she could have the 'chops' to do a movie this intense and carry it off. Kudos to you, Rachel, you were magnificent. To the reviewer that thought this was some kind of "CSI" movie, I have to agree with another reviewer. OBVIOUSLY, you need to buy a clue and realize that this was not just some fairy tale; it was a very dark, real, portrayal of human trafficking that is going on all around us. But this movie was more than just a story, it is a report on an INTERNATIONAL organization that is supposed to PROTECT the helpless not only turning a blind eye, but actually becoming INVOLVED in something that 55 years ago, people were being tried and hung for in Nuremburg. As a resident of Markham, just northeast of Toronto, I had to chuckle when I saw them using Toronto City Hall as the U.N. offices in Bosnia but I'm sure that only Toronto residents would recognize the interior. Overall, an excellent movie, worthy of many awards and I only hope that many more people will see it and realize how serious a problem we have on our hands. Please do give it a watch. I now find myself having to watch "Taken" because I need something to uplift me a bit and make me think there is someone out there that can do something righteous against these human trafficking scum.

Imagine a Steven Seagal movie without Steven Seagal and no fighting. This is worse (and your expectations were higher)! It is supposed to be a true story but it's so cheap that nothing seems to be true. It's not like they fight the US Government atrocities with this movie. They actually use the corrupt image of the US Government to sell the movie! They don't even know what language would these people speak. Half of them, speak Romanian. Casting Romanians is OK since the Romanian movie industry is the best in Eastern Europe so you can find good and cheap Eastern European actors which will be able to fake a Slavic English accent. But will they be able to speak any Slavic language? In this case any Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian? No! So the director made them learn some Slavic words and then let them speak... Romanian! Rachel Weisz is such a good actress that she can't fit in this movie. Alexandru Potocean is maybe the only one that can stand near her but the rest are playing in a different league. Vanessa Redgrave and David Strathairn cameos don't add any value to the movie. Monica Bellucci's cameo is even worse. I am still wondering why would anyone cast the girl who played Malena for a ten line part of an ugly office girl. It's sad they made such a bad movie about a true story. It's that bad that you can even think they wanted to bury the truth (I'm sure they didn't)!

If you only watch one movie this month - this should be the one. Its not perfect in terms of putting a movie together but the glitches are very few. More important is the message and if you are not shocked and deeply troubled about our society after watching it I would be surprised! Human trafficking is something most of us all to readily assume is some minor issue that doesn't happen to those around us or is perpetrated by the supposedly small percentage of 'bad guys' around us. But men typically have a very different mindset about rape to how women view and feel about it - and I personally felt this depiction of the realities of the world we actually live in both horrifying and sadly sickening thanks to a virtually global scale of indifference and lip service! The lack of action on the part of the American bureaucratic system after what was happening was exposed (along with the European governments et al as well) to clean up the contractors and the representatives sent to these destabilised regions, all to well underlines the real attitude to dealing with this epidemic of trafficking, systematic rape and torture. Trafficking is certainly alive and well thanks to that attitude and indifference to deal with this issue (largely by men). The fact that she was unable to obtain work anywhere after this expose all to readily underlines the lack of interest in the private contractors to cleaning up their own operations... Deeply Sickening and Saddening!

These days it's become a rarity to find a political thriller that is intelligent, intense and intriguing. So when one like The Whistleblower comes along, I find no trouble in treasuring every moment of it. Rachel Weisz stars as the titular pot-boiler who uncovers a sex trafficking ring while working as a peacekeeper in Bosnia. Based on a true story, she turns over some dirty rocks and a lot of people start to get very angry. This leads to a very tense race to discover the truth and find someone willing to help her bring down these horrible men before they get to her. There's a subplot with Monica Bellucci's character that is a little dull and eventually inconsequential, but when the Weisz side of things is so gripping, it's easy to look past. The story here is strong and every moment, especially in the final act, breathes with a wicked intensity that keeps you on your toes, but the real driving force of the film is Weisz. For some reason it seems like it's pretty hard for films to present female characters who are strong and firm in their beliefs without turning them into unbearable stereotypes. This year though we've experienced an influx of great ones that come off as genuine human beings and Weisz's Kathryn Bolkavac is another to add to the list. Especially given the fact that she plays a woman who is being constantly attacked and undermined by everyone around her, a role that opens itself up to melodramatic hysterics pretty easily. Weisz had to hit this balance of strength and broken hopelessness without going too far to make it unrealistic, and she hits every note necessary. There's one scene later in the film that really stands as a measure to the power of her performance. Bolkavac gets within an inch of freeing these girls and exposing the truth, when out of nowhere the rug is pulled out from under her and things look worse than ever. She bursts into tears, desperate for some way out of this situation; everything she was fighting for was right in her grasp and she just gets it ripped out of her hand like two kids fighting over a toy on Christmas. This moment would have been difficult for most actors, but Weisz has matured into one of our finest performers and she doesn't phase for a second. She could have easily slipped into unintentionally comedic melodrama but instead she brings down the house and almost brought a tear to my eye. It's a devastating moment in one of the strongest, most commanding performances of the year so far. A superb performance in a taut, intelligent thriller.

Sure the production values could have been better, but I am sure this movie did not have the biggest budget either. I thought Weisz, Redgrave and Strathairn gave good performances. But,most of all, what I liked was the raw feel of this movie, perhaps due to it's smaller budget, and the fact that it had a very important story to tell (a true story). I can not comprehend people complaining, in their reviews, regarding the languages spoken. Who cares ? Obviously they cared more about aesthetics than the actual story. Even with all it's flaws, it is a very entertaining, although sad, movie. It actually prompted me to do some research on DynCorp, KBR and Blackwater , 3 of the security contractors getting billions of $ from our governments while committing countless crimes around the world. So, I guess, in that respect, the movie has worked and got it's point across. Good to see a movie that actually gets your passion and emotions flowing, even if it is outrage.

So i sat down this evening at a special screening of The Whistleblower, id seen the trailer and was certainly intrigued as i think Rachel Weisz is an extremely fine actress, and it reminded me of a similar Australian film i saw a few years earlier called 'The Jammed'. I was absolutely floored by this film, so many times i was literally holding back my anger and my urge to yell at the screen. The story is a story that has been told somewhat before but none have had Rachel Weisz, she is the pure driving force of this movie, picturing someone else in this role is near impossible. The supporting cast are also stellar, I particularly enjoyed David Strathairn's character, one good guy in the midst of all these corrupt male cops, and the actress who played Raya gave a heartbreaking portrayal of a trapped woman. The fact that sex trafficking is still a major problem in the world is horrifying, i hope this movie eventually gets a full release in Australia as i think its a film a lot of people should see as sex trafficking is a major problem here. Be prepared to hold back your rage and frustration.... Come Oscar time i hope Weisz gets the recognition she so rightly deserves. In one word : Flawless

The previous reviewer obviously didn't know that this is a true story. The specific victims were fictionalized, but the overall story of what was happening and what Rachel Wiesz's character went through are true. They are not a contrived, or "generic" "CSI" story. That said, as a movie, Whistleblower delivers in telling about this difficultand important event. Some of the scenes were hard to watch, but, as the director mentioned at the Q&A after the screening I saw, it was just scratching the surface of what was going on. Vanessa Redgrave's character, though her scenes were relatively brief, really shined. I appreciated that the cinematography didn't involve any fancy styles or overly dramatic music. The director let the impact of the story itself, and Rachel Wiesz's fine acting, carry the movie.