PLEASE! If you found this movie enlightening in any way, continue to educate yourself about the realities of human trafficking!

Rating: 2/10 (3 September 2010)

Maybe I expected more because it's an issue I care a lot about or maybe I ought to avoid the action genre altogether, but I'm appalled and shocked to see how many positive reviews are out about this film, not to mention, how many people suggested it to me after learning about my interest in the topic.
Overall, this movie is ridiculously superficial and some of the worst acting/writing I've ever seen. SUCH a horrible way to simplify such a serious and complicated issue. The writer had to have read a brief article about human trafficking and thought it was a great dramatic plot for a warm-hearted, happy ending action flick. while it did highlight some basic facts about trafficking and addresses the idea that ANYONE, even wealthy American girls, can be vulnerable, it does such an extreme injustice to actual victims/survivors. Unfortunately, a film that could have been effective in raising awareness about human trafficking, seems to have only reinforced ideology that young girls fall victim to these sort of operations because of their stupidity and all they need is a big strong man to come save them while they're still "pure". While her mother was extremely foolish in not taking any action to prepare her for the trip, the plot suggests that the daughter's desire for independence led to her demise, succeeding in blaming the victim, as we tend to do in these situations.
This movie could have so much better if they had created a situation where the daughter does everything right and still becomes a victim because of the extent of deception tactics used in this industry. The film is only 93 minutes! It could have easily been extended to develop the plot and create a more plausible context. People who are trafficked are most often lured in by people they trust, not just some cute random at the airport telling them about a party. They should have ran with the plot of visiting museums and experiencing the culture of Europe and had her fall in love with some dreamy French guy or take some awesome job offer that turns out to be a trap. Take out one of the 5 car chase scenes and actually create a story! They could have done SO much to create a strong female character who, despite her age, naivety and horrible situation, can be resilient and inspirational to other young women.
Although the film did highlight typical experiences of trafficking victims such as forced drug use and repeated rape, as well as the complications of police corruption, they should have put a name or face to this experience rather than keeping the main character as the one who's somehow spared with her virginity still in tact, days after her original kidnapping. Even if this were the case, she would have been significantly traumatized due to beatings, intimidation, or simply witnessing what's happening to others.
Instead of the happy ending with lots of smiles and getting to meet a famous pop star, they should be addressing the after effects of extreme trauma. Even if they want to make it less intense for the PG13 rating, they could at least acknowledge that even someone rescued early on might need some therapy or support and won't be smiling and jumping around when she's reunited with her family, acting like "phew, glad that's over! Now I can get back to my fun life as a teenager and my future career as a pop singer!"