Trade (2007/I)

Director:

Marco Kreuzpaintner

Writers (WGA):

Jose Rivera (screenplay)
Peter Landesman (story) ...

Release Date:

18 October 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll pay for this.

Plot:

Adriana is a 13-year-old girl from Mexico City whose kidnapping by sex traffickers sets in motion a desperate mission by her 17-year-old brother...

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Sex | Mexico City | Auction | Kidnapping

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Kevin Kline	...	Ray Sheridan
Cesar Ramos	...	Jorge
Alicja Bachleda	...	Veronika
Paulina Gaitan	...	Adriana
Marco Pérez	...	Manuelo
Linda Emond	...	Patty Sheridan
Zack Ward	...	Alex Green
Kate del Castillo	...	Laura
Tim Reid	...	Hank Jefferson
Pavel Lychnikoff	...	Vadim Youchenko (as Pasha D. Lychnikoff)
Natalia Traven	...	Lupe
Guillermo Iván	...	Alejandro
Christian Vasquez	...	Moncho
José Sefami	...	Don Victor
Leland Pascual	...	Thai Boy

Also Known As:

The Girls Next Door (USA) (working title)
Trade - Willkommen in Amerika (Germany)
Welcome to America (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing sexual material involving minors, violence including a rape, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Polish | Russian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Argentina:13 (DVD rating) | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Chile:14

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Roadside Attractions

Trivia:

Milla Jovovich was going to play Veronica, but backed out of the role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Jorge calls his mother on the rotary phone he only 'dials' 4 numbers.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jorge: Happy birthday, Princess!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-09-29)" (2007)

Not for the Feint of Heart

This movie...is not a feel good movie. It doesn't give you the warm-fuzzy's. As a matter of fact, this movie made me realize just how sick and demented humanity can really and truly be.

Right off the bat, we're introduced to Jorge and his younger sister Adriana, it's her 13th birthday. Jorge gets her a new bike, much to his mother's chagrin. She decides to take it for a spin one day, and unfortunately finds herself in captivity.

Adriana is thrown into this downward spiraling world of sick sick sick people. The only solace she finds is in a much older fellow captive named Veronica, a Polish girl. Their only common ground is that they both speak a small bit of English. Veronica treats Adriana with a sister-like love, and defends her honor and sticks up for her if, and when at all possible.

Jorge, meanwhile, is left alone, distraught, and at a loss. He finds aide in a detective from Texas named Ray(played brilliantly by Kline), whom he finds curiously investigating one of the holding areas that Adriana was being detained. Together, they use what resources Ray has to save Adriana from inevitable slavery and hopefully put an end to whatever system was being run out of the United States.

This is not a movie for young children or even older ones at that. Rape and child molestation is rampant. If you are queasy from watching that kind of human waste, then consider yourself normal, and you may not want to watch this. I, felt the need to watch it, it truly opened my eyes in a way that earlier releases on Juarez, Mexico and other Mexican border towns just didn't. Think of it as similar to Schindler's List.

Kevin Kline said it best. (paraphrased in so many words from the bonus features in the DVD) If you're reading the newspaper, and the world's events, god willing that's what they still are, and you read it from cover to cover, and you think "hmmm....I should do something about that." Then perhaps this movie will inspire you.

This film was emotionally jarring to the very core. That being said, this film was fantastic beyond any assumption I had; and I had high expectations going into this. It's moving, it stirs the mind, it makes you THINK. Personally, I think that's important in this day and age.