The Whistleblower

A good human drama, full of qualities.

I really enjoyed this film, which is a powerful and poignant drama set in the years after the Bosnian War. Under the cover of peacekeeping operations in this country, marked by ethnic tensions and the scars of a fratricidal war, an American police force ends up discovering the involvement of military and UN employees in a vast scheme of trafficking in women for sexual exploitation. She exposes what's going on, but she has no way of knowing anyone's true loyalties, and most of the big culprits are safe behind powerful diplomatic immunities sanctioned by New York.

I don't know, as well as I would like, the real facts behind the action of the film. What I do know is that the real Kathryn Bolkovac sued the firm she worked for being wrongly dismissed, and won after denouncing the criminal wrongdoing she encountered. But regardless of that, it is a good film and entertains its audience very well, with a touching and engaging story, which Larysa Kondracki knew how to use well.

Rachel Weisz gives us a very strong and intense performance, her dramatic work being a key point in making the film work. The film also features quality work from David Strathairn and veterans Vanessa Redgrave and Monica Bellucci. With good cinematography, good costumes and sets and an effective soundtrack, the film also has good production values and some scenes are quite strong and difficult to see.