Nefarious: Merchant of Souls

Nolot does a masterful job of depicting the cruelty and inhumanity of human trafficking in the documentary Nefarious. The viewer is given an education on the global sex trade from the perspectives of both men and women who have been involved in the industry. The trauma such cruelty and brutality is having on actual women and children's lives cannot be underestimated. It stirs questions concerning the audience's reaction to this barely told horror still happening to members of our own humanity. While the barbaric reality of the trading and systematic abuse of persons is brought into the light in this film, there is a tangible hope for the violence to end.

I don't even feel like I can do this film justice by writing a review, but I'll give it my best shot. There is something truly special about being able to have my heart broken and deeply blessed at the same time, and this film perfectly captures that dichotomy. I walked away with a true sense of the pain, the evil, and the magnificence of the problem; I also felt full of hope and like I can make a difference. The film is beautifully made, and is hands down the best film on this topic that I have ever seen. I learned so much and walked away with a clearer understanding of what is behind this evil industry. I am looking forward to watching it again; I encourage anyone who has the chance to see it. It will change your life!

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

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.

For most people, allowing others to represent themselves in a business interview would be absurd. For most people, picking a lawyer to defend or prosecute on one's behalf, accurately, is a task that's nearly futile. For most people, we don't appreciate it when others relay personal events in our lives to mutual friends out of a concern that the situation won't be portrayed in a manor that depicts the whole truth. For most people, we become irritable when someone interjects and answers a question on our behalf, when the question was intended for you to answer. For most of us, we vote on a presidential candidate who most genuinely represents our beliefs & values. It can be unnerving to allow others to speak on your behalf.

As a survivor of human trafficking, I have found it nearly impossible to justly articulate or portray a picture, in it's entirety, of the horrors that I and thousands of others have endured. There is a groan from within for humanity to understand, to empathize, and to defend those rendered powerless. However sadly, most cannot wrap their minds around the nature of this trauma. Most are simply informed, but are never presented hope to believe there can be authentic renewal for victims. But Nefarious: Merchant of Souls does just that. This documentary understands, empathizes, and defends. Nefarious brings hope. Nefarious presents the necessary validation that is crucial for survivors to rebuild trust in a society that so seemingly accepts such atrocities by it's passivity. Nefarious: Merchant of Souls boldly advocates on the behalf of myself, and others in an honorable way, and is worthy to speak on behalf of survivors.