While this probably won’t be a box office, record-setting film, it certainly seems to be one of those films that makes you think about society’s ills and inspires you to do what you can about them. The major ill in question here is the nearly omnipresent practice of human sex trafficking.

The Whistleblower is the true life story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a United Nations International Police Force monitor who was stationed in postwar Bosnia and discovers a nationwide human-trafficking scandal that involved local government officials, as well as rank and file officers and upper level management of the U.N. itself. Bolkovac risked her life and job to expose and uncover those who supported and used the services of sex slaves while she was there.

Academy-Award winner Rachel Weisz plays the role of Bolkovac, and met with her everyday while filming the movie—which also features veteran actress Monica Bellucci—to make it as accurate as possible.

“She came on set about a week into filming, so I spent every waking moment I could with her. I would say, ‘What would you do in this situation? What would you say here?’ She would help me out. She also has a great sense of humor, and there’s obviously not a vast amount of places in the film to use that, but she loves life, she’s not a workaholic. And she’s very unpretentious, maybe that’s a Midwestern thing… she’s so not full of herself, she’s so straight talking and unpretentious.”

This is certainly a story that needs to be told, as I had no clue—before hearing about this film—that the U.N. had ever been in any way involved with sex trafficking or an attempt to cover up sex trafficking anywhere though I should’ve known. Seriously, the U.N.? The organization that anyone who is oppressed is supposed to feel safe in the presence of was full of employees, uniforms and suits who were unlawfully having their way with young ladies forced into prostitution? It would probably still be going on right this moment had it not been for the heroic efforts of one very brave woman who refused to let it go, even when it seemed that it would cost her everything.

Every so often, there are films that come out and tell the true stories of real heroes. From Oskar Schindler in Nazi Germany to Paul Rusesabagina and the Rwandan Genocide, these films show us that no matter how ordinary or insignificant we think we are, every one of us is capable of making a difference.

The Whistleblower hits theaters August 5th.

Source: Huffington Post

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