Back in January I had the chance to spend a few days at a film festival with some friends. Over the course of 5 days we saw a bunch of films (I can’t actually remember how many), but none of them impacted me as much as Trade. Inspired by an article in the New York Times by Peter Landesman, Trade tells the story of the international trade in women and children.

I’ve written about human trafficking (also called “modern day slavery”) on this blog and the issue remains a devastating one to me. Every year over 15,000 people are trafficked against their will in the United States (from the DHS website). In a seminar I attended a few months ago I learned that given our access to an urban center, agriculture, major highways, and an international airport, the Chicago-land region is a prime location for much of this trafficking to occur.

It’s one thing to know these statistics; it’s quite another to watch an unflinching portrayal of what it may be like to be a modern-day slave. Trade tells the story of a young Mexican girl and a young woman from eastern Europe who are captured by traffickers, illegally transported into the USA, and prepared to be sold as sex slaves to the highest bidders.

Now here’s the thing, this really is the best film that I (most likely) will never see again. In their attempts to realistically portray this heartless industry, the filmmakers do not shy away from their subject matter. If you choose to watch this film- and I hope many of you will- you will have your heart broken repeatedly. You will see things that happen all around the world every day that you would probably never choose to see, or even think about. You will find yourself feeling uncomfortable and, if you’re like me, very angry. Very angry. Quite frankly, these are emotions that I’m not quite ready to feel again.

Trade is having a limited release. It seems that the subject matter in this film is a little too much for many in the film industry. For those of you who heard Ray’s sermon at PCC on Sunday, this seems to be another example of how most of us, most of the time, would prefer to be amused rather than to face those realities in our world that call for genuine mourning. There are a few theaters in the western suburbs that have made space for this film. While I cannot say you will enjoy yourself if you choose to be one of the few who watch this film, I think I can ensure that it will be worth your time.

If you’d like to know more about Trade, my friend Craig (who knows more about film than any one person should!) has written about it on his blog.