Eden (2012)

A young Korean-American girl, abducted and forced into prostitution by domestic human traffickers, cooperates with her captors in a desperate ploy to survive.

Director:

Megan Griffiths

Writers:

Richard B. Phillips (screenplay), Megan Griffiths (screenplay)

Stars:

Jamie Chung, Beau Bridges, Matt O'Leary

9 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Chung	...	Eden
Beau Bridges	...	Bob Gault
Matt O'Leary	...	Vaughan
Eddie Martinez	...	Mario
Tantoo Cardinal	...	The Nurse
Tracey Fairaway	...	Abbie
Scott Mechlowicz	...	Jesse
Roman Roytberg	...	Ivan
John Farrage	...	Avni
Laura Kai Chen	...	Oma
Joseph Steven Yang	...	Apa
Tony Doupe	...	Greer
Russell Hodgkinson	...	Dave
Bhama Roget	...	Janine
Jon S. Robbins	...	Bill

Storyline

A young Korean-American girl, abducted and forced into prostitution by domestic human traffickers, cooperates with her captors in a desperate ploy to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitution | kidnapping | sex trafficking | rape | torture | 

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Taglines:

Kidnapped. Sold. Determined to survive.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content involving human trafficking, language and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Chinese Spanish

Release Date:

19 July 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Abduction of Eden

Filming Locations:

Douglas County, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eden Productions (II), Centripetal Films, Clatter & Din

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a scene in the movie in which each of the girls are wearing numbers, so that the "customer" can select who he wants more easily. Eden is wearing the number 7. In South Korean culture, the number 7 is considered a lucky number.

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Goofs

The girl that Eden was forced to execute did speak Russian, not Ukrainian as the subtitles state.

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Connections

References The Beverly Hillbillies (1962)

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Soundtracks

Spike Them All
Performed by Nazca Lines
Courtesy of Nazca Lines
And Stressed Sumo Records

User Reviews

A non-confrontation with a tough subject...

I realize this subject carries gravitas, and I also realize that the intentions behind the film are good, but this is presented as a dramatic piece and not a documentary, so, to speak of it only in terms of the merits of its subject matter is not particularly helpful if the object of a review is to also address film-craft. Understandably, this movie deals with "white-slavery" and is not purporting to be about inner city black teen prostitution, but I couldn't help notice that the film makers walk an ambiguous aesthetic line when it comes to portraying exceedingly beautiful girls in detention whose hair and makeup is rather inexplicably ready for prime-time whenever the camera cuts to a close-up to show them rolling out of bed in their underwear. No effort is given to show the day to day crafting of that beauty image if that is supposed to be the point; rather, we are left to wonder how much of our own voyeuristic sentiments are being teased by this somewhat glamorous dramatization. Characters are not well defined in this film and their dialogs are piling up the missed opportunities to deepen our understanding of their merging predicaments. Though much attention seems to be given to the protagonist, little is in fact discovered about her transformation. The "Eden" script often feels like it resulted from a weekend course in screen writing, after the author learned to plug-up emotional holes with convenient tricks, like losing a high school ring that is supposed to symbolize the link to family, etc. The henchmen and orderlies in the "prison facility" where she is held are cut out of cardboard and resemble the comical beefy sidekicks in low brow action flicks. It is wholly unclear what they get out of this deal, or why they stay at all. If indeed their motives and rewards are sexual, we would never know it, because the picture dances around its main horror-show: forced sex. I know that in America, sex is and will always be a problem to be skirted, however, since this is a film about forced prostitution, and it is implied that the main character might be a virgin at the onset of her ordeal, it boggles the mind that the story is presented so as to avoid direct confrontation with its own most pressing crisis: violence and rape. Understandably, portraying those in the correct measures is challenging but that is precisely what determines the measure of quality, and craft, in a film which is supposed to tackle such a hard and mature subject - on the other hand, it seems inconceivable to me to deal with sex-trafficking as a dramatic piece by prudishly dancing around the reality (I am tempted to write Reality with a capital "R") of sex being forced on young women as their lives are being destroyed. Whitewashing is the word that comes to mind. Even if we agree that some things cannot be shown, Eden's own dialog persistently avoids confrontation with her own sexual experience and discovery. Clearly, good intentions went into this picture, and actors Jamie Chung, Bo Bridges, and Matt O'Leary give it their best shot, despite having little to work with most of the time; still, after viewing the movie, I listened to a 20 minute pod-cast interview of Chong Kim, the woman whose ordeal this film purports to be based on, and discovered that her (real) story is in effect a much stronger dramatic piece. Incidentally, when I first watched the movie Taxi Driver in the 70s, I was still a teenager, and the portrayal of the fictional teen prostitute played by Jodi Foster affected me deeply - one reason is that her character's plight is distinct, and strong. She is not the protagonist in the film, but so much was accomplished with so little, because the picture as a whole was so well crafted that its impact reverberates on and on. Film is craft.