The Whistleblower

The vast majority of the time one hears the words 'government contract' it is safe to assume it is not the best and brightest people who are volunteering to go for extended periods of time to locales termed war zones. Sure, there are those altruistic few who take up the charge to make the world a better place, but routinely, it is just someone willing to exchange six months of their life in exchange for a juicy paycheck. The Whistleblower's heroine, Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Wiesz) is one such person. She was a Nebraska police officer who signed on with a company called Democra who had a security contract with the United Nations.

For six months of her time and $100,000, Kathryn was to monitor the local Sarajevo police and advise them on proper police procedures. Very quickly, she discovers the word monitor means turn a blind eye as Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks abuse whatever power they have to continue a sort of undeclared war on each other. The Serb policemen will not investigate or prosecute domestic violence cases, especially if the woman is Muslim. Kathryn successfully leads Bosnia's first case against domestic violence earning her a more visible job as the department head for gender affairs.

Now her scope includes far more than standard local police issues. Young Eastern European and Russian girls are turning up on the streets and shelters looking severely assaulted and sexually abused. To her shock and dismay, Kathryn learns that United Nations employees from all nations are not only the girls' customers, but frequently aid local human traffickers in their transport and have an interest in holding the girls against their will.

Nobody in any position of authority ever raises their hand for a scandal, so all of Kathryn's investigations and findings are swept under the rug and she is ostracized from the rest of her compatriots who are either not interested in obtaining justice for the girls or believe so much in bureaucracy and paperwork that they sometimes send the girls right back to their rapists. On Kathryn's side is the High Commissioner for Human Rights rep played by Vanessa Redgrave and an internal affairs agent played by David Strathairn.

Frequently, the subject matter and scenes of girls undergoing sexual abuse and torture are stomach churning. The film can be relentless at times showing various punishments and cruelty. Human trafficking, especially if it involves a trusted world organization and its sleazy contractors, is an extremely important subject to cover and make films about; therefore, be ready to adjust uncomfortably in your seats as you watch downright disgusting and brutal activities perpetrated against teenage girls.

The Whistleblower deserves applause for bringing to light the company Democra which still carries out government contracts to this day. However, when the film takes a break for showing the girls' plight, it focuses on Kathryn's personal life and back story which are choppy and do not come across as fully thought out. There is her home life back in the states which she left, including her daughter, and an awkward budding romance with a Dutch security contractor. Including romance and relationships in a film with this disturbing subject matter would be tough for any director, and this first time feature director does not quite pull it off.

It will take this reviewer some time to get over some of the images in The Whistleblower; tread at your own risk. But this story deserves to be told and shown in all of its brutality.

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.

what is it that makes us human? the thing that separates us from the animals? the whistleblower doesn't answer these questions. in fact it asks the question even more. this movie was hard to watch but also hard not to. Weisz is outstanding as the woman that exposes the men with control and power over their weaker fellow man...or woman in this case. you must watch this movie for the human story. expecting to be "entertained" by drama and the like should not be your goal here, the director has done an excellent job ensuring that. if you want to be entertained then watch transformers... if you're not afraid to be moved by the real events on which this story is based, then this movie is for you.

While the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia made a lot of news in the 1990s, less well known were the actions of military contractors in the region. "The Whistleblower" tells the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who joined a private company to serve as a peace-keeper in Bosnia, only to discover that the company was complicit in human trafficking.

The really ugly scenes are when we see what is done to the trafficked girls. It almost seems as though the movie should have focused more on them. But what is equally important to understand is not only the atrocities committed with impunity by private contractors, but the risk that whistleblowers face even today (as shown by the WikiLeaks case).

Either way, this is something that everyone should see to understand the reality behind modern-day mercenary armies.

Im a fan of non fiction films so when I heard about this film starring the magnificent Rachel Weiss I was hooked.

As always Ms Weiss delivers a believable and approachable performance in this gritty and not for the faint hearted movie fan.

PLEASE STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE END OF THE FILM

After reading the end snippets of information about Kathryn Bolkovac and human trafficking it seems that her efforts were in vain. The 'machine' has exiled her without employment to the Netherlands, the oppressors illustrated in the film were let off, and the company who seemed to be condoning this trafficking is alive and well and still making millions of dollars.

Another thing bothered me was the fact that this was grossly under marketed, an opening weekend on just 7 screens that amounted to a paltry 60K, and as of 23rd Oct 2011 a gross amount of just over $1 million is disgraceful. Why were other 'touchy' movies such as Syriana for example were marketed, opened on many more screens, made a lot of money and highlighted the message they were trying to get across were box office successes?

A film along the same genre as Syriana that is non fiction, and highlights the flaws in the 'Machine', The Whistleblower in my opinion I cant help but think was itself a victim of the Machine based on the above facts.

You have a great story, a great director, a fantastic cast, so why was it that The Whistleblower wasn't bigger? Perhaps the pea from the whistle had been misplaced???