Nefarious: Merchant of Souls

WOW! I was blown away by Nefarious: Merchant of Souls! As someone who has a heart for human trafficking, I've watched a lot of documentaries, news reports and mini-series on the issue. But Nefarious was unlike anything out there! It's informative, powerful and hopeful. The information in the film was eye-opening and the conclusions the filmmaker came to really caused me to re-evaluate what I thought I knew about trafficking. I left feeling not only emotionally stirred, but commissioned to take action- that there is something I can do to fight against this issue of modern-day slavery. Also, a big bonus, Nefarious has incredible cinematography- what a quality film!! Everyone should see this movie.

Gripping, well-made, and yet hopeful. The creators take viewers to countries around the globe--some expected, and some surprising--and give a broad picture of human trafficking. They interview prostitutes, pimps, traffickers, and those seeking to help. This film is passionate and inspired me to view prostitution--both legal and illegal--through different eyes. Though this is their first film, it did not seem like it. It was very well made and gripping. It was the first film I have seen on the topic and I felt it did an excellent job at introducing the subject and challenging viewers. The section on prostitution in the US was eye-opening for me as well. I heartily recommend this film, although it does contain very hard-hitting content (I wouldn't recommend it for children or young teens). I understand they are making a follow-up, which I am eager to see!

Initially, you may want to run out of the screening as you are introduced to the infamous "breaking grounds", where mafia and organized crime destroy young women. But, stay put because you will be glad you did. The makers of Nefarious carry your heart very responsibly throughout this entire documentary. My favorite moment-the beautiful Cambodian girl who now believes she is a princess and that God loves her. I also love that you hear stories of so many broken people and then get to see later on that they were radically saved and rescued out of the industry! But, just so you know, not all of them choose to go through that open door. Someone actually returns to prostitution.

The movie's message is nicely summed up in its last quotation before the credits, which says something like "You can turn your face, but you can never say you didn't know about it".

This movie reveals such a shocking truth that makes you wonder how could we as a human race reach such a low point. The first minutes are painfully realistic in interpreting an abduction and the posterior purchase of a woman by a mafia guy. After that, you just can't take your eyes off the screen, even if that's what you desire the most.

The movie cleverly follows a reasoning line that start with the more precise, concrete issue of human trafficking, in particular related to Eastern European organized crime, and from that digs deeper and deeper, linking this particular and terribly awful issue with that of prostitution and Amsterdam's (in)famous women windows in the Red Light District, and one can't help but wondering: from whose twisted mind came the idea of making of this a tourist attraction?? When dealing with the complex issue of prostitution, the movie takes us to rural Thailand where 80 to 90 percent of girls are sold by their families to brothels, and at this point I think the movie falls at least temporarily in the Western Savior Complex, specially when a (white) interviewee says something of the kind: "On whose mind is it ethical to give up their daughter to this kind of life, just for some money?". And the question remains unanswered, floating around, with no effort whatsoever of trying to answer it, of interviewing a local, of trying to see the problem from the locals' perspective instead of that of a Western who landed on this exotic land to solve the problem you guys have.

But anyways, that's just a somewhat minor detail. In general the movie is well-centered, and after dealing with the Thai problem, the movie goes back to Las Vegas and interviews American prostitutes. Here the authors dig even deeper and link the issue of prostitution with that of child abuse. And the circle closes itself. What started as the most horrific face of capitalism and greed, is now seen through the lens of a patriarchal society that objectifies women and thinks they are there for men to masturbate inside them, as a Swedish politician says in the movie. And you realize that this problem is the worst face of both capitalism and patriarchy, and you realize how intertwined these two systems of oppression are.

So this movie could have finished as a chant against both capitalism and patriarchy. Instead, the authors decided to fill the last 15-20 minutes with bits of interviews in which the interviewees ALL cry, with a pathetic piano music on the background, while EVERY SINGLE ONE of them says that what made them carry on forward was faith, and God. And then you realize you have just watched a religious movie, made by religious people, with somewhat bizarre testimonies of prostitutes leaving their job because of an encounter with Jesus. And I mean, it's good that religion gets close to people's problems; but the thing with offering faith as the way out is that it rules out solutions of this world such as grouped resistance and government action.

So the end was quite disappointing. But that doesn't mean the rest of the movie is highly recommendable

After graduating from a media and entertainment university, I have seen and critiqued many documentaries over the last few years, and I would say that without a doubt, Nefarious: Merchant of souls is by far the best I have seen to date. Not only will the gripping story keep you in your seat, but the quality of the documentary is one that surpasses many. The documentary does not just give you a glimpse of what sex trafficking looks like, but it takes you all over the world and shows interviews from experts, survivors, traffickers, and johns to give the viewer a more complete understanding of this issue, and how it effects us all. In addition, Nefarious has a powerful message that needs to be shared with people around the globe. The issue of sex trafficking has burdened my heart for many years, and Nefarious is one of the best awareness tools to expose this injustice.