Sex Traffic (2004)

Directed by: David Yates | 180 minutes | drama, crime | Actors: Wendy Crewson, John Simm, Anamaria Marinca, Maria Popistasu, Chris Potter, Len Cariou, Maury Chaykin, Luke Kirby, Robert Joy, Rodica Negrea, Carlotta Natoli, Barbara Eve Harris, Andre Prisecaru, Zoltan Butuc, Elina Löwensohn, Alexandra Fasola Ana Heygi, Peter Sullivan, Matilda Ziegler, Dolly Wells, Nawzad Shuani, Neil Bell, Alison Peebles, Irina Bucescu, Razvan Vasilescu, Emil Hostina, Catalin Babliuc, Mircea Stoian, Ephraim Ellis, Nikki Barnett, Jacob Krichefski, Alin Panc Cristin, Claudiu Istodor, Viorica Voda

In a world of supply and demand, the sex industry is a lucrative but shadowy trade. Every year, it is estimated that more than half a million Eastern European women are taken to more than 50 countries around the world under false pretenses. The traffickers take advantage of the dreams and poverty of their, unfortunately naive, victims. The women are promised jobs as nannies or cleaners, but they almost always end up in prostitution or other forms of sex slavery. The sex trade has thus become one of the fastest growing forms of organized crime in Eastern Europe.

‘Sex Traffic’ is a poignant documentary-style TV film that gives the viewer an intimate glimpse into the lives of a number of people, all of whom are involved in the sex industry in one way or another. The main characters are the Moldovan Vara (Maria Popistasu) and Elena (Anamaria Marinca), two sisters, who one day leave their mother and Vara’s son, just one year old, behind to go to London with the hope of a better life. The aim is to earn enough money in London and then return after a while. The viewer is also introduced to Daniel (John Simm), a sympathetic Londoner who is 100 percent committed to his work for Speak for Freedom. Finally, we get to know the couple Madelaine and Tom Harlsburgh, living in Boston, America and working for the mega concern Kernwell, a company that sends security agents to Eastern Europe. Madelaine (Wendy Crewson) works for Kernwell’s charity fund. When one of these agents, Callum Tate (Luke Kirby), is accused of buying one of the girls, Tom (Chris Potter) learns that there is a lot more wrong with his workers in Eastern Europe. However, to avoid a scandal, and therefore bankruptcy of Kernwell, it is decided to cover up these matters. Madelaine discovers this deception by her husband and his colleagues and bites into the matter by leaving for Italy, where there is a shelter for the victims of the sex trade.

The film opens with images of a seventeen-no, sixteen-year-old girl who introduces herself to the camera at the behest of a man we only hear talking. The choppy images shot with a handheld camera immediately give the film a documentary-like feel. This increases the viewer’s involvement with what is happening on screen. And quite a bit is happening. The viewer is hardly spared when a girl is violently thrown overboard from a boat, because the water police discovered the boat with illegal immigrants. Her cry for help goes through the marrow and at that moment you are not even in the story yet. Furthermore, there is a rape scene in the film that in terms of shock effect is not inferior to that in ‘Irréversible’.

Fortunately it is not all misery in ‘Sex Traffic’ and there is also something positive happening. The fact that things often end differently in real life makes it all the more poignant.

The acting performances of the cast are unanimously very strong. Everyone comes across as natural and convincing. Special mention goes to Anamaria Varince, for whom this is the first role. The miniseries is directed by David Yates, who has also directed ‘State of Play’, ‘The Girl in the Cafe’ and ‘The Way We Live Now’. He is currently working on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the series. ‘Sex Traffic’ has rightfully won a whole load of international awards, including the Prix Italia in 2005, seven Bafta Awards, a Golden Nymph in Monte Carlo, two RTS Awards and four (Canadian) Gimini Awards. Not an easy fare, but a film that will probably stay with you for the rest of your life.