Cargo (2011)

Directed by: Yan Vizinberg | 86 minutes | drama | Actors: Natasha Rinis, Sayed Badreya, Philip Willingham, Raul I Torres, Xavier Fan, Vaughn Goland, Israel Hernandez, Misha Kuznetsov, Dave Powers, Seth Ruffer, Darja Schabad, Adrian Luke Sinclair, Anita Storr, Alex Trubetskoy

‘Cargo’ is not light fare. A film about trafficking in women is therefore not a good basis for a light-hearted comedy. The jury of the New Hampshire Film Festival has not failed to notice that the film touches on relevant subjects and has something meaningful to say. ‘Cargo’ won the festival’s Grand Jury Award. Rightly so.

In ‘Cargo’ it is all about Natascha (Natasha Rinis). The young woman hopes to build a glittering modeling career in America. Unfortunately things are different. The Russian is kidnapped and forced to build a life as a prostitute in the States. The violent Sayeed (Sayed Badreya) picks up the unsuspecting Natascha in Mexico and drives her to America. The woman soon discovers that something is not right. She finds herself in a desperate situation and tries to placate the dour Sayeed. At first he is not open to Natascha’s words, but his feeling slowly changes. When tied up Natascha causes an accident, she gets out of it all on her own, but Sayeed is found to be seriously injured. An opportunity to escape presents itself, but can the woman just leave and let her captor die?

Despite the tight budget ‘Cargo’ has become a very impressive film. The location – Sayeed’s van – is very limited, the cast minimal and the soundtrack almost absent, but the film still sticks. ‘Cargo’ revolves around the well-developed characters. Rinis portrays a strong, but also fragile woman. Badreya manages to turn the violent Sayeed into a somewhat empathetic character. Very handsome. The film is about people and not about explosions or sadism. That the film thinks in shades of gray – and not in standard black and white – is brave. The characters are not predominantly good or bad and that enhances the realistic atmosphere.

‘Cargo’ is a strong arthouse film that deserves a large audience.