Wednesday 25 July 2012

The Whislteblower 2009

I have changed my mind and will cover the Swedish six part creation of the Stieg Larsson Trilogy Millennium with the British rendering of the first of the series, The Girl with Dragon Tattoo, together with the British rendering of the latest three Wallander novel to be brought to the TV screen by the extraordinary Kenneth Branagh together with the exposure of the dark side of a UN peace keeping force through the film about the trafficking of females the Whistleblower, and then do a separate piece on other TV and films.


I begin with The Whistleblower described as a thriller film although it is a dark film about a dark subject directed by Layrsa Kondracki and written by her with Eills Kirwan and starring Rachel Weiss. The film was released in Canada 2010 and in the United States last year by Samuel Goldwyn Mayor.


Katherine is a police officer in Nebraska, not a USA State I know much about apart from a Bruce Springsteen Album of the same name and that it is in the Midwest. It is the least populated state with under 2 million and a land area greater than England. Its highest income tax rate is under 7% and the VAT is set at 5.5%. Kathryn has been married not once but three times and her husband has custody of her teenage daughter. Her attempts to get a posting close to where her daughter now lives fails and she is given the opportunity to participate in a high earning short term mission to Bosnia as part of the UN Police force managed by a British private company called Democra Security.


Soon after arrival she encounters one of the basic problems in a society in which men dominate and women are divided between wives who have no rights and regarded as property and whores or potential whores excluding dutiful daughters but this is not extended to daughters from other countries. The contrast between her own independent feminism where she soon has a sexual affair with a Canadian born official whose role I cannot remember and that of an abused wife leads her to find a way to bring the case to court against the combined hostility of everyone local, supervisory or monitor. She is successful and this attracts the attention of Vanessa Redgrave as an important UN official who decides to appoint Rachel as head of the Women’s department. One consequence of this is that she is made aware of the extent of trafficking of women into the country aided and abetted by the local police who take bribes from the whore houses and also not just tolerated by senior figures in the UN but where some are directly involved in the trade as well making use of the women, some who are adolescent girls.


The development of this criminal trade from Russia and middle Europe developed apace with the ending of state communism and development of international crime syndicates. The channel tunnel has also helped in the bringing of slavery back into the UK although domestic slavery was created through the diplomatic service of other countries coming to London and opening the doors to business and other interests from countries where domestic and occupational slavery continues in operation.


Often girls are effectively sold by their extended families via criminal agencies offering significant paid work opportunities only to find themselves a long way from their homes with their passports or knowledge of the language laws and customs of the country they find themselves taken, often illegally and then require to earn their keep sometimes with the promise of freedom by becoming whores.


When Kathryn discovers the nature of the UN involvement and the way the girls are used and killed if they refuse to confirm she acts, using two of the girls as test cases, Despite her efforts the other central character, a girl sold by her uncle with the help of his wife is found dead just before the arrival of her mother to take home arranged by Kathryn. Fired from her job for being a trouble maker she manages to get the story to the BBC. In the attempt to make the film appearing to be a real event, we learn that a number of the officials are sent home though no one faces criminal charges because they have diplomatic immunity. The security firm continues to do good business moving to Afghanistan from Iraq and Katherine marries and begins a new life in Canada promising her daughter they will have anew life together when she is old enough to determine her own future. It is close to the reality although usually there is no happy ending for anyone.