The reviews coming out of Sundance were brutal. Critics carped about the film's sledgehammer style, its exploitation of actors, and its veracity. TRADE does contain brutal scenes of rape, forced drug use, and Internet auctions of young girls and boys. There are scenes of child molesters buying time with victims that make your skin crawl. The filmmakers contrast scenes of profound ugliness with sequences that echo light-hearted road movies. It is not always an easy blend. But there are scenes of revenge and longing for forgiveness or release that continue to haunt me. Evidently, the controversy which surrounded the original article carried over into the movie. Questioning the movie became more important than considering its disturbing premise.

After the brutal review, Lionsgate decided to give TRADE , a modest, arthouse release through their Roadshow Attractions label. They toned down the poster, making it appear slightly less sensationalistic. TRADE has fallen from becoming a timely movie about a crucial, international human rights issue to becoming a virtual non-event. Critics of the article and film can take comfort in knowing they've managed to bury an issue that demands our ongoing attention. While the sex trade flourishes in secret, TRADE the movie opens in theatres almost equally hidden from view.

Thankfully, TRADE was screened at the United Nations for the benefit of Equality Now.
Perhaps the upcoming DVD release of AMAZING GRACE: The William Wilberforce Story can broaden concern about sex trafficking. For further reading on the subject, I recommend, David Batstone's book, NOT FOR SALE, and the accompanying campaign to end slavery in our lifetime.

Here's my effort to raise a bit of awareness. I talked to the producer of Trade, Rosilyn Heller, about the genesis of the movie, the haunting aspects of TRADE, and the Christian community's roots in the struggle for women's rights. Maybe Gloria Steinem and the Salvation Army have more in common than they realize. Listen to my conversation with Roz at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on a special, Kindlings Muse podcast here.

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Craig Detweiler is a filmmaker, author, and cultural commentator who's been featured in The New York Times, CNN, and NPR. Craig co-directs the Reel Spirituality Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. His first book, A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture has been adopted as the standard text in the field of theology and pop culture on college campuses around the world. Craig currently resides in the Los Angeles with wife Caroline and children Zoe and Theo. Although Craig writes/blogs many places, his recent musings (including this write-up) can be found here.

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