Trade of Innocents

So many films on child and human trafficking are coming out, it's hard to keep up. Trade Of Innocents is a well meaning film on the subject. It just isn't the best. It concerns a grieving couple (Sorvino and Mulroney), trying to come to terms with the death of their daughter. They support a organization, helping to rescue kids who are being pimped out, to foreign pedophiles, as such a middle aged guy (a creepy John Bilingsley- Croc 3). He's the stereotypical pedophile, where they're are so many instances in Trade Of Innocents, that are clichéd, it's tense building up to finale, kind of strengthens it, livens it, and redeems it, but by this time, it's really too late. I did find bits of the film, were just weak and linear. I like Dermot Mulroney, and it was good to see him here, as I haven't seen much of him nowadays, but one feels he was miscast, where obviously Sorvino, outside of acting, has taken a personal and vested interest in this cruel trade, very much mirroring her character in Human Trafficking, where here, she's not as strong a character as she was in the latter, but shows the same initiative. The Aussie who's part of the anti trafficking organization, was a different angle, but desperate one, as was stereotypical like how his fate turned out and going undercover to buy some girls, as you see in many HT documentaries, like Dateline whatever, where too a nice bike chase, added some other tension, besides the norm of scenes you see in these slavery dramas. The film does throw in some smart tricks, as in Mulroney's character, like surreptitiously taking a photo of child and pedo in a bar, but really doesn't change the fact that this is just a more weaker film as to say Human Trafficking, Trade or Lilet Never happened. Yet still the film shows a likable initiative in a not so bad drama, for people who like this topic, a manifold of dramas probe.

This could have been so much better if they had found some actors that could actually "ACT" Dermot Mulroney and Mira Sorvino could have been replaced by two planks of wood and no one would have noticed the difference.

The Asian villain over acted his heart out! He never gave up, like a cornered rat he put up a fight.

The subject matter was never going to be an easy one to deal with, however, it was over simplified and put together like something from a Christian NGO workshop training video.

One really annoying thing about it other than the two main actors was the jumping between subtitles when the actors were "speaking Khmer" or whatever it was they were speaking and then the same actors talking in English for some reason. They should have just left it one way or the other.

Certainly not the worst movie around, but pretty poor mainly due to the pathetic script and bad acting.

So glad to see a film exposing the reality of child trafficking. Much more relaxing and comfortable(?) to go and watch the Desolation of Smaug but this is about the desolation of children and you need to see it. Thought Mira Sorvino did a great job as the mother trying to cope with the overwhelming horror of seeing children being destroyed by greed, both sexual and monetary, this was well portrayed. However I had a problem with the role that Dermot Mulroney played (not his acting - he's good) in that he came across as the arrogant American. I really wish the scriptwriter had gone for a different approach here as the movie has been given world-wide release and people are rather over the "I know better than you do, I'm American" type of persona. I would have gone and worked with someone else if I'd been the Aussie! I just wish that someone now would do a film about closing down the market from a different angle. This was about stopping the "product" being available but what about a film wiping out the revolting "purchasers"? No buyers, no market. Great acting by Trieu Tran, John Billingsley and the children.

I've seen some of the other reviews on this movie and am saddened that people seem more concerned about quality acting, than the point that children are being sold as sex-slaves, right now, today! It shows how numb the world has become to horror. The heart of this movie will touch yours, I hope. But this film also reminds us of the importance of art, the power of media, and will stir you up to share, like, tweet, post, whatever else you can do to a) raise awareness of the heinous crime, and b) help prevent it happening. If it saves ONE little girl, or ONE little boy from this horror, isn't it worth it. Besides that, I actually think the storytelling is really strong, the characters have great arc, and Oscar-winner Miro Sorvino is just fantastic. The bad guy is appropriately disgusting and tormented. I would STRONGLY recommend this movie to anyone who cares about life.

What a great film; poignant story, beautifully crafted, and a powerful message. Christopher Bessette and Philip Hurn make a dynamic team. This is a powerful treatment of a sensitive topic. Christopher's keen insight gave him the ability to thoroughly uncover a complicated topic. His recognition from the Breckenridge Festival of Film and The Canadian International Faith and Family Film Festival (CIFF) as best director testify to Christopher's consummate skills. He is able to draw out the subtle nuances of the characters that can speak louder than words. The veracity in the treatment of character, scenes, and all aspect of the story is impeccable. Don't let the ability of this film to express the delicate shadings of meaning, feelings, and value escape you if you are used to some films that are more superficial. Congratulations to Christopher and Mira Sorvino on the most recent of a growing list of awards garnered by The Trade of Innocents. I highly recommend this film.