The Whistleblower

“May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!” —2 Samuel 3:39

American movie-goers are becoming more and more desensitized to the brutality and violence often depicted in the films we see. Even movies that are “based on actual events,” like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “City of God,” and others, are pretty horrifying. Though such films are always interesting and can help to shed light on events happening around the world, do we really want to subject ourselves to views of such debased human behavior?

“The Whistleblower” is another movie with a “real” story to tell. It centers on a group of young women in Eastern Europe who are being subjected to sexual slavery. As such, the film contains a lot of monstrous and graphic scenes of sex, nudity, violence, torture, and murder. The fact that all of these things are happening to young ladies, just adds to the repugnance of the film.

Rachel Weisz (with an excellent performance) portrays real-life Nebraska policewoman, Kathryn Bolkovac, who travels to Bosnia as a United Nations peacekeeper. As part of her job in the departments of “gender affairs” and “repatriation,” Kathryn investigates the plight of two young women who have recently escaped a gang of human traffickers. She encourages the girls to testify against their captors, promising to protect them from further abuse. Kathryn has good intentions, but finds herself battling a net of corruption and cover-up by the upper-echelons of the U.N. Forces, as well as the independent contractors working in the country.

Aided by Internal Affairs advocates (played aptly by Vanessa Redgrave and David Strathairn), Kathryn fights to make the brutal truth known, in order to bring the criminals, many of whom have diplomatic immunity, to justice. As the plot twists and turns, it is obvious Kathryn doesn’t know whom she can trust. In the end, it becomes clear that promises can only truly be kept by God (Numbers 23:19).

The suspense and excitement in the film are very real, though the story can be hard to follow. The dark lighting makes the plethora of different characters often indistinguishable from one another. The portrayal of fear by all the prisoners is palpable, as they suffer abuse from the evildoers. One can only hope the victims will find the victory, freedom, and strength that inspired David to write the 23rd Psalm, as well as many of the other psalms.

As can be expected, vulgar language, smoking, excessive drinking, and other immoral behaviors are pervasive throughout the film. Graphic images of women being brutalized, tortured, and murdered are an unavoidable part of the story. Though “The Whistleblower” is, in general, well-made, I would strongly suggest avoiding it.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

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