Holly

I watched a DVD (not Blu-Ray, haven’t advanced that far yet!), the other night on the recommendation of a staff member with International Justice Mission (IJM).  It was one of the hardest movies to watch that I’ve ever experienced.  Here is the description from the DVD case…

”Holly”, shot on location in Cambodia, including many scenes in actual brothels in the notorious red light district of Phnom Penh, HOLLY is a captivating, touching and emotional experience. 

Patrick (Ron Livingston), an American card shark and dealer of stolen artifacts, has been “comfortably numb” in Cambodia for years, when he encounters Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl, in the K11 red light village.  The girl has been sold by her impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute.

Holly’s virginity makes her a lucrative prize, and when she is sold to a child trafficker, Patrick embarks on a frantic search through both the beautiful and sordid faces of the country, in an attempt to bring her to safety.

As you can see from the synopsis, it deals with the real life problem of young girls being sold into the sex industry.  Like I said, it was hard to watch.  At times, I had my fists clenched as I watched young girls being taken advantage of.  As much as it was hard to watch, I felt I needed to try to understand what is happening in certain areas of the world.  I must warn you that while the movie is not overly graphic, the implications are clear.  As the movie ended, I was struck again by the importance of an organization like IJM.  They are doing more than bringing light to this subject, they are actually rescuing children and prosecuting those responsible.  Praise God for organizations like that.

While I am leery to recommend watching a movie, (there are some objectionable words) if you want to get a feel for what is happening in the world, this is worth watching.

By the way, on Nov. 7/8, IJM’s Canadian director will be sharing in our services.