There are few things in this world more horrifying and despicable than human sex trafficking, and yet it is a reality that persists around the world in underground criminal rings. In January 2004, Peter Landesman wrote an expose on the practice for the New York Times called The Girls Next Door. This article serves as the basis for the upcoming film Trade, directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner and starring Kevin Kline.

A couple years ago, I caught part of a similar made-for-TV movie called Human Trafficking, starring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland, and Harry Potter director David Yates also directed a two-part TV drama called Sex Traffic. Obviously this is a subject that is getting a lot of attention right now, and I can see why. The tricky thing is dealing with the material in a way that doesn’t shy away from the truth, but at the same time, doesn’t get too graphic or overly exploitative. The trailer for Trade looks visually stunning, but something about the music and the tone of it seemed a little too sappy for me. If they find the right balance, I can see this being a pretty powerful film, maybe even something that is Oscar-worthy. But if they make it too thick with sentimentality, it could come across as patronizing. The screenplay for Trade was written by Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries). Look for it in select theatres on September 21st.