Nefarious: Merchant of Souls (2011)

That was an excellent one.

Brilliant and touching

A Brilliant Conflict

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The movie's message is nicely summed up in its last quotation before the credits, which says something like "You can turn your face, but you can never say you didn't know about it".This movie reveals such a shocking truth that makes you wonder how could we as a human race reach such a low point. The first minutes are painfully realistic in interpreting an abduction and the posterior purchase of a woman by a mafia guy. After that, you just can't take your eyes off the screen, even if that's what you desire the most.The movie cleverly follows a reasoning line that start with the more precise, concrete issue of human trafficking, in particular related to Eastern European organized crime, and from that digs deeper and deeper, linking this particular and terribly awful issue with that of prostitution and Amsterdam's (in)famous women windows in the Red Light District, and one can't help but wondering: from whose twisted mind came the idea of making of this a tourist attraction?? When dealing with the complex issue of prostitution, the movie takes us to rural Thailand where 80 to 90 percent of girls are sold by their families to brothels, and at this point I think the movie falls at least temporarily in the Western Savior Complex, specially when a (white) interviewee says something of the kind: "On whose mind is it ethical to give up their daughter to this kind of life, just for some money?". And the question remains unanswered, floating around, with no effort whatsoever of trying to answer it, of interviewing a local, of trying to see the problem from the locals' perspective instead of that of a Western who landed on this exotic land to solve the problem you guys have.But anyways, that's just a somewhat minor detail. In general the movie is well-centered, and after dealing with the Thai problem, the movie goes back to Las Vegas and interviews American prostitutes. Here the authors dig even deeper and link the issue of prostitution with that of child abuse. And the circle closes itself. What started as the most horrific face of capitalism and greed, is now seen through the lens of a patriarchal society that objectifies women and thinks they are there for men to masturbate inside them, as a Swedish politician says in the movie. And you realize that this problem is the worst face of both capitalism and patriarchy, and you realize how intertwined these two systems of oppression are.So this movie could have finished as a chant against both capitalism and patriarchy. Instead, the authors decided to fill the last 15-20 minutes with bits of interviews in which the interviewees ALL cry, with a pathetic piano music on the background, while EVERY SINGLE ONE of them says that what made them carry on forward was faith, and God. And then you realize you have just watched a religious movie, made by religious people, with somewhat bizarre testimonies of prostitutes leaving their job because of an encounter with Jesus. And I mean, it's good that religion gets close to people's problems; but the thing with offering faith as the way out is that it rules out solutions of this world such as grouped resistance and government action.So the end was quite disappointing. But that doesn't mean the rest of the movie is highly recommendable

even though the aim of this movie is amazing, the final movie is horrible!! It made me angry while watching because you only see Americans talking about their closed mind view of how we have to understand sex trafficking! you only see Americans in intervievs and no locals who could explain why and how it came to this horrible situation. the only part I like and can take serious is the part about prostitution in America. the psychologist dan allender is also very good and objective but everything else is just the wrong way to talk about horrible sex trafficking crimes in this world!! Its sad because the aim behind the movie was certainly a good one.

Nefarious is the most gripping film I've ever seen. I've seen it several times and every time I come out of it sobbing not only because of the horrors of human trafficking but because of the love of Jesus Christ that is portrayed so beautifully through personal testimonies of trafficking victims. Its contains truths that are hard to grasp, but truths that everyone should be aware of. I like the fact that it gives a wide variety of perspectives. It shows the trafficked, traffickers, and those who aid in the restoration for both.This is a film full of exposing what most people try to hide, restoration, and hope. Please take the time to see this film. It will not be a waste of time. It will change your life. This is a MUST SEE!!

This film is one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever viewed! The issue of sex slavery is such a vast and horrendous topic to cover and yet, Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, does not leave you in despair but offers a message of hope through the testimonies of women who been rescued from this atrocity. After having read about this issue for many years and having seen numerous films on the topic, I was so relieved to finally see a film that captures the beauty of restoration and not just focus on the hopelessness that can so often be felt when talking about this injustice. Here is a beautiful quote from an interview I read with filmmaker, Benjamin Nolot. "Through Nefarious, we want to see people ignited with a passion for human dignity, for the sanctity of life and for the conviction that NO human being should be bought or sold." I highly recommend seeing this film!