 TAKEN: Paulina Gaitan stars as Adriana, a 13-year-old girl who is snatched off her bicycle in Mexico City, in 'Trade.' ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS 'Trade'
The quick hitThe film's wake-up call needs to be heeded, but its missteps detract from its devastating message. Grade: B - Now playing in Orange County
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'Trade' trades in on exploitation
Review: Look at sex slavery raises issue but shies away from being enlightening.
The U.S. debut of German filmmaker Marco Kreuzpaintner, "Trade" is a gritty movie about a vile and disturbing subject – human trafficking – and if it raises awareness of the hideous practice then it's worthwhile.
Unfortunately the harrowing story, inspired by Peter Landesman's New York Times Magazine piece on the sex trade, is marred by a variety of improbable developments. If infiltrating an international pedophile ring were as easy as the script indicates, there wouldn't be a need for "Trade" in the first place.
The film's wrenching emotional core belongs to Adriana (Paulina Gaitan), a terrified 13-year-old snatched off her bicycle in Mexico City, and Veronica (Alicja Bachleda-Curus), a young Polish mother tricked into leaving her homeland with promises of a more bountiful life in the United States. (It's easier to get into Los Angeles from Mexico than Eastern Europe, says the agency that sets up her abduction.)
At the mercy of violent men who force them to cross the border en route to an "auction" in New Jersey, Adriana and Veronica turn to each other for what little solace they can manage. Adriana tries to comfort Veronica after she is raped. In turn, Veronica tries to protect the girl – who must remain a virgin to command a higher price – when their captors decide to make a little side money with her.
On their trail is Adriana's teenage brother Jorge (Cesar Ramos), who robs tourists for a living but turns out to be as resourceful as a highly trained member of an FBI hostage unit. He miraculously tracks the truck carrying the women to Juarez, where, to cross the border, he hides in the trunk of a car belonging to Ray (Kevin Kline), a Texas cop.
At this point, "Trade's" urgency wobbles, and the film begins to resemble some sort of twisted buddy movie. Ray has a convenient secret that leads him to join Jorge's cause, and as they head to New Jersey their rescue mission is marked by remarkable coincidences and unlikely changes of heart, making their scenes feel contrived and hollow next to the real horrors witnessed by the women.
"Trade" is capable of stirring deep emotion; one scene, in which a weeping Adriana is led off into the brush where unthinkable transactions take place, is appalling enough to wreck your sleep for days. But the ridiculous ease with which Ray and Jorge track down the bad guys works against the film's dark revelations about the evil of monsters who prey on and profit from women.
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