Occasionally a film comes along that you know is going to leave a mark on the way that you view the world. Incendies did it to me earlier this year and now The Whistleblower has managed to do it again. This is the kind of film that everybody should be made watch as its topic is something that the whole world should have brought to its attention. You will seriously never view The United Nations the same way after seeing The Whistleblower.
Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz – Dream House, The Deep Blue Sea) is a caring cop who takes a job as a Peace Keeper in post-war Bosnia in a bid to make money so she can move closer to her daughter sooner. However, not long into her role she finds herself learning more and more about a sex-trafficing scandal involving victims such as Raya (newcomer Roxana Condurache) and Luba (Paula Schramm – Anonymous, Frontalwatte). Soon Kathryn discovers that while some of her colleagues, Jan (Nikolaj Lie Kaas – A Funny Man, Orla Frosnapper) and superiors, Madeleine Rees (Vanessa Redgrave – Anonymous, Cars 2) want to help her on the case, she discovers others such as Laura Leviani (Monica Bellucci – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Rose c’est Paris) are willing to just turn a blind eye or worse still… are involved in the evil trade.
Director/screenwriter, Larysa Kondracki (Viko) needs to be congratulated for not allowing The Whistleblower to hold back and turn a film about something serious into a ‘warm-easy-to-watch’ film for the audience. This film is confronting and un-flinching but it needs to be as this is a topic that the world needs to know about. At times the characters feel so believable it feels like you are watching a docco and that only makes the brutal scenes even tougher to watch. Kondracki must be considered one of the bravest filmmakers around at the moment as making a stand against The United Nations and its corruption would not have been an easy thing to do. All you can hope is that she is making films for a long time to come because her unrelenting style forces her message home with ease.
The other big surprise in this film is Rachel Weisz. Mostly known for her role in The Mummy films it is easy to forget that she is indeed a serious actor who knows how to pull a punch. Her performance here deserves to win awards and she is well supported by Vanessa Redgrave who feels so genuine in this film that it is a real surprise. Credit must also be paid to Roxana Condurache and Paula Schramm who pull off some difficult roles with ease.
The Whistleblower may not be an easy film to watch but it is a film that will leave you feeling rewarded. Exposing corruption at its very worst The Whistleblower is one of the most important films you will ever see. This is filmmaking at its very best!
Year: 2010
Director: Larysa Kondracki
Stars: Rachel Weisz, Vanesssa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Paula Schramm, Roxana Condurache
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 107 mins
Rating: 
Out on DVD/Blu Ray 22nd Feb 2012