Matrioshki - le trafic de la honte

I agree that it is a good and very realistic film. It should be shown on TV in all Eastern European countries, so that the girls who might be tempted to go to the West, would know what to expect. However, I would like to ask a question to the previous commenting viewer who said that in this film "we see the positive and negative sides of buying and selling women.." POSITIVE sides? Excuse me, what are the positive sides of a slave trade? Maybe you didn't mean it, but your statement sounds like coming from somebody who regularly uses that sort of parlours and does not mind if those who "work" there, are being abused - as long as he gets "what he paid for". Very sad to read.

In Eastern Europe, a group of hopeful, poor women are asked to sign a contract that they will dance in clubs in Belgium(which is where this was produced... note that hooking appears to be illegal there). They are being tricked, however, and find themselves victims of human trafficking. Let me make it absolutely clear that this is a subject that demands attention, and I applaud their intention. I wish I could say the same unreservedly for their execution. Honestly, if they had made this as a documentary, perhaps with, if possible, real testimonies from those who have made it out and are safe(names kept secret if need be), I think this would have been spot-on. Part of the problem is the exploitative use of the girls(who remain naive throughout, disbelieving that they may be forced to prostitute themselves, *even after one of them IS*)... you don't need to constantly show what they are being forced to do merely to establish that it's happening, and the amount and presentation of nudity and sexuality in this is counterproductive. The very intro, with the theme tune of half-heartedly thought out lyrics, is one long display of erotica. Did I mention that it takes up several minutes(who told these people that credits can't run over early scenes?) of the 43 minute running time of all ten(that tend to contribute to the overall events as well as be reasonably separate) episodes(and that's after each one starts with a 3 minute summary of, well, most of the time, only the one immediately preceding it, even showing things that have no impact on what we're about to see)? Do I hear you calling that a nitpick? No, what I mean to point out here is that they did not have enough story(why ten episodes? Several of them could easily have been excised), and the stretching of it is obvious and grating. I fear that the script-writers lack experience, because they make rookie mistakes(other than believing that sequences of people yelling at one another constitute drama, or that audiences will tolerate one anti-climax after another), leaving countless plot(and don't get me started on the holes, it's like Swiss cheese) threads dangling(or have them be cancelled out rendering them useless), introducing characters that make no impact to "keep the pot boiling", and seeking to have *every awful thing that happens(and a few that I am quite certain hardly ever do) to those trapped in this situation happen to this one small group*. We don't know enough about what's going on, including motivations(I cannot overemphasize the importance of that), they make a big deal out of money and passports early on, then they disappear and aren't brought up again, and the utterly untrustworthy(seriously, no one would go along with what Count Dracula and Grinning Psychopath ask them... and why are they always making ridiculous mistakes, how could they have lasted this long if they forget such obvious, basic aspects of their "business"?) keep getting away with doing things in broad daylight? There are too many roles in this, and you find yourself forgetting even names and what little personality they do have. This has some incredibly unrealistic things take place. The dialog tries to be clever, and sometimes really succeeds(this can be pretty funny). With all that said, this does present vital issues at the heart of this problem, such as the corruption, the stigma, the mafia methods utilized by the men in charge, etc. And when this goes for psychological accuracy, it tends to hit the mark. It can really surprise you, and that along with the tension it musters up at times does have you watching closely, a good deal of the way. And not only are the actors actually from the countries their parts are supposed to be, they speak their native tongue when it makes sense(meaning, Lithuanian, Russian, Dutch and English)... and the performances are outstanding. I'm not even sure I could say that anyone didn't live up to the rest. And this is filmed well. I would love to catch something else from some of these immense talents(the only ones that I don't extend that to are the authors). The grittiness of the environment comes across. There is a moderate amount of brutal, disturbing and violent content, as well as a tiny amount of gore, in this. I recommend this to those looking for a manipulative piece on something where we shouldn't need this kind of mini-series to get infuriated and demand action be taken. 7/10

Wow!! The first Belgium TV series I've seen & i'm already impressed by the 1st episode. The production standards were indeed high. And the subject matter...Wheewe! Heavy stuff. Now that is what television should do, educate, while entertain (for want of a better word). We always read about the European slave trade with girls vanishing from Eastern European countries & I've seen a few documentaries on the subject, but to see it scripted as a drama is altogether another thing. I must express my ignorance in that i didn't realise that criminals from Belgium were involved, I thought it was mainly a Russian mafia thing.

Very impressed & I'm glad we have a station like SBS that show intelligent programs like this from around the world. I definitely will track down the DVD & lend to friends too lazy to watch it late on Friday nights.

The Danish crime show, Rejseholdet is also screening & is also of high standard. The stories are more realistic & don't necessarily end upbeat like the US shows. More meat & potatoes than fairy floss.

Do these kind of programs ever show on US television?

Fantastic, I just had to vent my approval somewhere... Ha!

I normally don't comment on TV-series but I'm gladly making an exception for our highly prestigious Belgian series "Matroesjka's". This unquestionably is the greatest, most ambitious project ever in this country and I dare to say that it could easily compete with world-class series such as "The Sopranos" or "Alias". A common mistake Belgian writers usually make is that they try very hard to make their premise look Hollywoodian, yet "Matroesjka's" isn't like that. On the contrary, the sex industry is a typical Belgian issue and our country often serves as the turn-table for this kind of crimes. And this series is an intelligent and detailed portrait of it all: raw, often shocking and thought-provoking. "Matroesjka's" centers on a criminal organisation that yearly travels to the poorest ex-Russian countries in order to recruit young girls as dancers for their Antwerp nightclub. The girls are promised big money and a more bright future, but in reality they'll serve for erotic dance-acts and even prostitution. Tired of their pitiable life conditions, ten attractive young girls sign a false contract that literally makes them the property of Ray van Mechelen and his relentless gang of small thugs, deranged psychos and violent aggressors. The rest of the carefully constructed screenplay focuses on the gangsters' interactions with each other (blackmail, betrayal, executions…) as well as with corrupt police detectives and the attempts of a sole journalist trying to publicly unmask the crime network.

"Matroesjka's" exist out of 10 episodes, which comes down to approximately 500 minutes of footage. Yet, there is not one dull moment and every episode becomes more fascinating. The series obviously disposed of a large budget but every cent is well-used! The detailed preceding research to the plotting is flawless while the set pieces and costumes and highly efficient. Most of the chapters are entirely filmed in Belgium, but the actual recruitment of the girls takes place in pauperized Russian wastelands and one episode is filmed in Cyprus where the girls received their "training". The makers put a lot of effort in making their series appear real! The unfortunate girls are actual Russian actresses that only speak English when necessary and with heavy accents. Even the Belgian actors are allowed to speak in their ugly Antwerp dialects and that only increases the naturalness and credibility of the series. Can you imagine dangerous thugs talking correct and without swearing?? Talking about the cast: every Flemish actor that ever meant something in the world of theater or cinema is involved in this project. It's an all-star cast, world famous…in Belgium. Most of them play the roles of their lives, more particularly Peter van den Begin as the head of the organization and Tom Van Dyck as the deranged, trigger happy lunatic.

"Matroesjka's" contains several sequences that are stuffed with exploitative violence and gratuitous nudity…But what else do you expect from an allegory focusing on mafia crimes like this! It's a tough world and if you have the ambition of telling a story about it: you better make it realistic. Luckily, the whole production was realized without having to worry about censorship or ratings which are very important in a shock-portrait like this. Our country doesn't mean that much in the field of television or cinema but "Matroesjka's" undeniably is a brilliant piece of instant cult-entertainment. The news got out that the series already has been sold to several other European countries and TV-stations so, in case you soon encounter it dubbed in French, German, Spanish, English or whatever; please remember where it originally came from.

This series takes you deep into the Belgium Underworld. Murder, assault, extortion, but above all: women trade for the sex industry. The series starts in Russia and the east of Europe where women are recruited with false promises and stories by a group of Belgium criminals. This group exploits a sex club back in Belgium and they intend to let the recruited girls strip and work as prostitutes or else sell them to business associates. The club has always been top of the bill until the new group of girls starts to rebel against their 'owners'.

THe series has a lot of violence, strong language, and nudity and is therefore very realistic. The use of different languages and dialects only adds to this.. But unless you speak Russian, English (with strong Belgium and/or Russian accents), and "Flemish Dutch", subtitles are a 'must'.

All in all a great series, if you enjoy series like the Soprano's and Oz.