Trade (2007)

Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

It's a gripping, uncompromising story of the kidnapping, brutalizing, smuggling, and sale of young women and boys, from Mexico into the United States. It's hard to tear yourself away from the screen for fear you'll miss what degradation comes next for the two kidnapees from Mexico City that the story follows -- Alicja Bachleda, a strikingly beautiful young woman, and Paulina Gaitan, a scared thirteen-year-old girl. The latter is the sister of Cesar Ramos, a tough urban teenager. Ramos hooks up with Kevin Kline, whose own daughter disappeared, possibly kidnapped, years ago.The kidnappers' idea is to get the two girls to New Jersey in time for an internet auction at which sex slaves are sold to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, along the highways, the girls are rented out at isolated spots to pervs who use them for as long as it takes to boil an egg. Going rate -- eighty dollars. Gaitan, however, is a virgin and they want to keep her that way because she'll bring a higher price in the Garden State. She is rented out too, but I guess remains what high schoolers call a technical virgin.Kline, a cop, and the vengeful Ramos are in pursuit, not knowing exactly what they're looking for until the contrived ending. The two begin by hating each other but wind up fast friends, naturally. The narrative demands it. The acting is marvelous on the part of just about all the principles. Kevin Kline's performance may be the weakest. He seems almost too tired to be bothered with the role, but maybe resignation is what the role calls for.Best performance -- envelope, please -- the madam who keeps half a dozen young girls locked away in the basement. She's always smiling but, my God, she looks evil. Her high cheekbones and her eyes at their alarming dihedral lend her a resemblance to Morticia Adams, but more -- reptilian. And she delivers delightfully, demanding that Kline, in order to prove he's not a cop, consummate his perverse lust for the thirteen-year old on the spot -- "And I want to see blood on the sheets". I can't find her among the credits -- maybe it's Kathleen Gati but I'm not at all sure.There is no nudity and no simulated intercourse, only the suggestion of them. The story itself is powerful enough to carry the message. But, then, what IS the message? The epilogue claims definitively that the CIA estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 people are kidnapped and smuggled into the United States, like these two girls. But as far as I can determine, the CIA has made no such estimate. The best the CIA has been able to come up with is 45,000 to 50,000, and not all of them are kidnapped for sexual purposes. The fact is that it's extremely difficult to make a good guess because the data just aren't there.In the 1930s they made innumerable movies about "social problems" like "gangsterism." J. Edgar Hoover warned all of us to be on the lookout for spreading gangsterism in 1950. Or the problem might be reefers or gambling. The drama in this film is tumultuous but maybe what's called for is a dispassionate and reasoned approach. What this film does -- and does very well -- is contribute to the "mean world hypothesis" in which we believe we must live surrounded by scoundrels, enemies, murderers, and sex traffickers. The world isn't really "mean". It's just indifferent.

The Truth of TradeBy: Hayli Marie VaughnThis is not a uplifting movie. Trade made me realize how awful and cruel this world really is. I never thought sex trafficking actually happened but after watching this movie it has shown me just how easy it really is. Trade really spoke to me. In many ways did I find this movie realistic. Adriana's (Paulina Gaitan) mother told her not to ride the bike because it was too dangerous, and her being a teenager she did it anyway. I had a gut feeling something bad would happen. Jorge (Cesar Ramos) is a big brother who is hanging around the wrong group of kids. Veronica (Alicja Bachleda-Curus) is a mom who wanted to make money for her son and ended up getting kidnapped. This broke my heart because all she wanted to do is support her family. Ray is a policeman that has been looking for his daughter whom he thinks got sold into sex trafficking. Adriana is a young teenage girl who gets taken into this cruel environment. Luckily she meets Veronica and she makes her happy. Veronica is like a big sister to Adriana in this time. Veronica is always looking out for her and calming her down. This to me made me feel good on the inside because even though Veronica was in a tough time she was still looking out for someone other than herself.All Jorge wants to do is get his sister back and Ray helps him do so. After a lot of searching and following Jorge found his sister and Ray 'bought' her. This was an uplifting time in the movie because i was so scared that some random would buy her instead.I've never actually thought sex trade was something that actually happened often so this movie to me was a real eye opener. Although there is a lot of rape, molestation, and abuse in this movie it truly is a movie teenagers should watch.

How can u Trade something like this? We watched Trade in my English class during our human trafficking unit, and I felt that Trade was a great movie all around. This movie was inspirational, and meaningful. I normally don't get into this type of movie, but Trade had me involved the whole time, certain scenes made me feel like I was actually there, living the movie with them. This movie brought out the truth, that some people here in our country are demented and cruel. ****spoiler alert**** . Russians take two Polish women from a airport, where they were supposed to meet the Americans so they could help the women get jobs to send money back home to their families. When the women get near the van, the first woman suspects something is wrong, she takes off running, but the Russians catch the second girl and put her in the van, and take her away. They never let her see her family again, they keep her captive. What they did was they used her to make money by making her sleep with a bunch of different men on a daily basis.****End Spoiler****How could someone born and raised in this free country, kidnap and sell someone for sex?? I just don't get it, but this movie describes perfectly what actually happens right behind our backs today in this land that we all call ¨The Land Of The Free¨. We all say that nothing bad happens in our country, but this movie reveals what's really happening. Trade reveals details, that most Americans don't have a clue about. This movie is one of the best realistic movies that I have seen. This movie is not meant to entertain someone, it's meant to inform the Americans who have no clue this is happening, so maybe now that we know maybe we can help put a stop to this trafficking. Trade helped me understand what's really happening out there in this world. I didn't think that this could happen in my country. This movie inspired me to speak up and try to put a stop to this horrid act. In the movie there is a young Hispanic boy named Jorge, he is a very inspirational character. He has a caring heart, and never gives up. We need more people like him in this country. Jorge went through hell trying to find someone. He drove chasing after a truck, he also ran after the same truck when his car ran out of gas. He showed true grit. He was my favorite character, because he was the one who inspired me the most during this movie. This movie made me feel like I was right there with him throughout the whole thing. It was realistic and intriguing.

I watched Trade in my English class while talking about human trafficking. This movie really opened my eyes about the reality of human trafficking and the awful truth of it. Trade is suspenseful, yet you can kind of guess what is going to happen. You really have to watch the movie and pay close attention to what is going on for you to understand most of the movie later on. Anybody that watches this movie should be mature enough to handle the contents of it. However, I do believe that this movie should be very intriguing and eye catching to all viewers. The story-line was very powerful and it had meaning. The movie Trade made me realize all the wrong in the world. This movie was one of the most powerful and moving movies I've ever seen and will probably ever come across. I highly recommend this movie for mature audiences.