Holly DVD Review

Sex slave trade is a cultural epidemic that is a reality of life for many young girls in SE Asia. Golden Globe nominee Ron Livingston (Sex and the City, Band of Brothers, Office Space) portrays an American living in Cambodia, working, and sheltered from the world around him. Then, by chance, Patrick (Livingston) stumbles upon Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a young stubborn girl forced into a brothel where Patrick rents a room for a few nights. Holly is a powerful drama, on DVD January 27th, that brings to life a very real truth thanks to City Lights Media, Priority Films, and Director Guy Moshe.

Patrick is a card shark and a dealer in stolen artifacts. He manages to separate his business dealings from his moral conscious by simply keeping his nose down and remaining numb to his environment. When Patrick meets 12-year old Vietnamese girl Holly, who was sold by her impoverished family into sex trade, he looks her in the eye and sees the humanity behind this epidemic that he is soon to discover is common place.

As Patrick bonds with Holly, he must overcome the perception from people he encounters that believe he is one of the men interested in young girls. He must also deal with Holly’s struggles to trust and her eventual obsession with her new friend. When Holly flees, Patrick must also track her down and rescue her from her new predicament. During his hunt, Patrick gets a full view of the breadth of sex slave trade and the reality of life for young girls in SE Asia.

Holly is more than just a dramatic movie. It is a life changing film experience. The film has received much national and international acclaim. Producers Guy Jacobson and Adi Ezroni were honored by the U.S. State Department with the prestigious Anti-Trafficking Heroes Award in the “2008 Trafficking in Persons Report”. The pair were the first filmmakers to earn the award. A portion of the film’s proceeds support RedLight Children, a grassroots campaign aimed at eradicating all forms of modern-day slavery.

Holly is a slow-developing story. It takes a bit of time to lay the foundation for the characters involved. The filmmakers do an excellent job developing Patrick as an initially indifferent American and Holly as an innocent young girl unaware of what is about to happen in her life. However, once the players are presented, the story becomes captivating, disturbing, and genuine. It is amazing how Holly is able to tell a story about one girl in tens of thousands faced with Holly’s predicament, and show the value of human life and innocence.

Starring: Ron Livingston, Chris Penn, Thuy Nguyen, Udo Kier
Director: Guy Moshe

Reviewed by Neil

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