I am not a movie critic, and I’m not playing one here. But for only the second time since I began this weblog over six years ago I would like to recommend a movie: it’s called The Whistleblower.
I’m recommending it for three reasons:
First, and foremost, because it is based on actual events, which happens to be the case with all of my favorite movies, including In Cold Blood, Bird, Schindler’s List, All the President’s Men, Syriana, and The King’s Speech.
Second, because it features a woman defying prohibitive odds to fight against a male-dominated system that is rife with corruption and abuse. This is a favorite theme of mine, which was played out in two more of my favorite movies, namely, Silkwood and Erin Brockovich.
In this case, the woman being portrayed is Kathryn Bolkovac, an ordinary Nebraska cop who signs up to serve as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia. (For spoiler reasons, I won’t say why.)
Alas, what she found was that many of the people committing crimes against humanity were men of all ranks in her own peacekeeping mission. Only instead of ethnic cleansing, they were involved in the sexual exploitation and trafficking of helpless teenage girls.
As it happens, I’ve been doing what little I can for years to draw attention to these despicable crimes:
Disgusted officials leaked an internal UN report which found that peacekeepers had sexually molested and abused African refugees in the DR Congo. These leaks forced Secretary General Kofi Annan to admit that he had known all along about his staff’s criminal conduct – including paedophilia, rape and prostitution (some of which was caught on tape).
(Kofi Annan’s UN malaise, The iPINIONS Journal, February 20, 2005)
At any rate, how Kathryn goes about seeking justice for these girls in the face of systemic retaliation makes for a very suspenseful thriller.
Third, because Kathryn is portrayed by Rachel Weisz – an actress who can probably thrill me by simply reading the ingredients from my favorite cereal box on screen. (It does not hurt that her supporting cast includes the legendary Vanessa Redgrave.)
I’ve enjoyed Rachel in a number of movies, but my cinematic infatuation was not consummated until I saw her in another of my favorite movies, The Constant Gardener (2005). This infatuation has only deepened with The Whistleblower; this, notwithstanding her recent marriage to Daniel Craig, aka James Bond 007 … lucky bugger.
I highly recommend this movie. It goes into general release today.
Related commentaries:
The Constant Gardner…
Kofi Annan UN malaise
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