Trade

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Buy This Item Trade by Lions Gate  Available from Amazon  $19.99  on 11-25-2008     <I>Trade</I>, a controversial drama that aims to enlighten viewers to the horrors of the international sex slave trade, functions in a somewhat documentary mode due to its purposefully repellent nature. Written by Jose Rivera, who also adapted to screen the <I>Motorcycle Diaries</I>, Trade opens in Mexico City where a tourist, Weronika (Alicja Bachleda-Curus), is kidnapped right before a thirteen year-old Mexican girl, Adriana (Paulina Gaitan) is yanked off her bike and pushed into a black Mercedes. Quickly, the two young women meet in various squalid conditions, alternating turns of abuse and rape with sleazy men who prepare them for international sale over the Internet. A vengeful plot kicks in once Adriana's brother, Jorge (Cesar Ramos) and Texas policeman, Ray Sheridan (Kevin Kline), fatefully unite to rescue Adriana in hopes of eliminating this repugnant operation. <I>Trade</I> is nothing short of a melodrama; the script is overwrought, and many scenes are morbid and graphic. When Adriana has been captured by U.S. border patrol, sits in prison, and a Texas high school student offers her, in Spanish, friendship and an issue of Glamour magazine, one feels the soap opera line being crossed. However, the political message in <I>Trade</I> is strong and preaching aside, viewers may realize that any exposure of women's rights violations is for the greater good. —<I>Trinie Dalton</I> Reader Reviews This is a film that is hard to watch. If you are human, and you have a heart, this experience will definitely not be pleasant. Do not take this as a bad thing however; after the viewing was over, I felt almost a sense of relief and happiness knowing that many viewers will get their lives changed, because of this important little tale. I will not provide a synopsis of the film; everyone else has summed that up well. What I would like to comment on is the outstanding performances. Within the first ten minutes I was dropped into this story, and I felt like I was involved. You go on a journey from Mexico to New Jersey, and there is a sense like you are a fly on the wall, and all you want to do is help the victims escape. The performances are strong enough that you will inevitably feel a suspension of disbelief. This is a story that needed to be told, and in my opinion it was done well. This is not an exploitation piece. It is a film however that shows you all the grim details of this world; it is absolutely necessary to drive home it's point. I recommend this to any viewer willing to take the pain to gain the important message this film has. You will feel sad; there is however a satisfying conclusion that will help with the sadness. You you are looking for an "escapist" film, do not watch this. It is not mindless entertainment like most movies these days, this actually has a point. I hope you will take my word for it, and just watch. Even though the subject matter is dark, it is important, and in my opinion necessary knowledge that every human being on this planet should have.

Trade Available from Amazon Price: $19.99 Updated on 11-25-2008.

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