Eden (2012)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

You won't be disappointed!

I wanted to but couldn't!

Brilliant and touching

I'm giving this film a 5/10 as it was watchable, and the acting 'wasn't bad', but I'm very unsure what all these high praising reviews are all about! I hadn't even realised Eden was supposedly based on a true story, as there are just SO many gaps and obvious flaws in the film it's ridiculous, and either there wasn't enough research made by the people behind the film, or the 'true story' behind it is a piece of fiction. After researching Chong Kim's life, I'm thinking both. I don't really get how a whole film was made based on this girl's life without anything being verified as true, and not even attempting to make certain parts more believable for viewers.

This is one of those disturbing female-produced coming-of-age fantasies, but instead of the heroine being raped by her dad, or by her lesbian teacher, or by a vampire, this time it's by pimps. (Yes, the pimp is even a moody cute guy) And it's biographical, written by a survivor! As usual every detail of the plot rings false, and it's impossible to relate to or become engrossed in the drama. It's a story of emotion, reality is barely an afterthought. That said, these movies are usually decently enough made (these girls are readers, and daddy paid for film school), they feature a cute girl who can act well enough, and they do indeed have some emotional power. But these forced tears are thin and annoying

To me, films like this are the true definition of horror, because they really happened. Anyone can look up the graphic details on Wikipedia and see that not only did it happen here, but it happened fairly recently. Hyun-Jae was just a typical California teenager, who went out to party one night. She met a man, left with him, and quickly learned he wasn't what he appeared to be. Hyun-Jae is sold into prostitution and has no other choice, but to be a sex slave for the next three years. The film was very well done, in that it didn't go over the top. Abduction of Eden showed us, what we needed to see, in order to understand and be shocked by what happened, but it didn't go so far as to desensitize us to the story. Jamie Chung, A.K.A. Stu's wife from the Hangover, stars as Hyun Jae, and her performance was really key to how the audience would react to what was happening. Equally as good, was the jailer, Matthew O'Leary. It took me a while to recognize his as the kid from Domestic Disturbance and Spy Kids 2, and it was shocking to see how quickly he grew up. He was this horrible guy, doing terrible things, but there was a part of you that saw him as trapped as the girls were and you couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The cast makes the film, it's as simple as that. Abduction of Eden was a story that was fast moving and somewhat graphic, but ultimately predictable. Films like this one could go either way, it all comes down to just what they show and who they cast, and the producers of this film did an outstanding job of both.

While the 2013 film year is only about half way over, I am almost positive that this will be in my "Best 10" list for the year. As others have already noted, I was completely surprised on how good this movie was, and I will say that had this been a true "Hollywood" movie with name stars and marketing muscle, this would be under strong consideration for Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Perhaps it still has a chance for the independent Spirit awards, but we shall see. I did notice on IMDb that it previously won the "Audience Awards" at SXSW, Milan, San Diego and Seattle, so it has clearly touched a cord among many who have seen it.I felt the direction of this picture by Megan Griffiths was outstanding. It is a difficult tightrope to walk to present this film so that we see how bad it is, but not so bad that it becomes gratuitous and too upsetting to watch. I think she accomplished that.We usually see Jamie Chung in movies strictly as eye candy. However, she handles this very difficult role (where she is on camera for almost the entire film) in a very understated and believable way. It is hard for Asian women to find good roles in American cinema, but maybe this puts her in a better position to find more serious, meaty roles in the future.I've been surprised at the polarization of user reviews on IMDb. Usually these independent, art-house films receive universal acclaim on this site, and God help the one person who disagrees. This time, it appears people either love it or hate it. Put me down on the side of loving it.