Eye Candy #588 - "The Whistleblower"

The Whistleblower: This film is based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who took a job with a private military contractor Dyncorp (called Democra in the film) who had a contract with the UN International Police force in Bosnia in the late 1990’s.  In her capacity as head of gender affairs, she finds himself hip-deep in a sex trafficking conspiracy involving other Democra personnel that buy and sell women from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.  She finds herself working against her fellow employees, who are predominantly men, and a leadership structure more interested in covering its rear and keeping its healthy government contracts (Dyncorp has also had contracts in other countries including Afghanistan and Iraq, none of which have passed with some sort of controversy, including other allegations of sexual slavery), than in right and wrong, resulting in her wrongful termination for whistleblowing.  No criminal charges were ever filed against the employees of Dyncorp that were responsible for trafficking young girls for sex in the Balkans.  A perfect example of a contemporary instance of the banality of evil - normalizing the unthinkable so as to become routine.  Rachel Weisz plays Bolkovac with a sure hand, with David Strathairn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Benedict Cumberbatch in support (though Cumberbatch and Redgraves’ roles are very small; Cumberbatch does do a phenomenal American accent).  This film should make you very angry.   Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”