Holly
(2006/City Lights Pictures DVD)
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C-
One of
the most under-addressed issues in all aspects of the world media is the
exploitation and sexploitation of children, with attempts to deal with it
having only so much of an effect. The
Internet has hurt more than helped.
There is also the occasional narrative feature to go along with
documentaries on the subject that outnumber them, which brings us to Guy
Moshe’s Holly (2006) about the title
12-year-old character (Thuy Nguyen) being exploited in Cambodia in the sex
trade.
She is
Vietnamese, but that is ignored to a fault so she can be continuously
exploited. It is an ugly, exploitive
life and she has not yet been sold for sex, but that is inevitable. A visiting American (Ron Livingston) meets
her and becomes interested in trying to save her, but the odds are against him,
though they are just getting together and talking, which he is paying for. Moshe and Guy Jacobson co-wrote the
screenplay which has a few interesting moments, but is too muddled and hard to
believe early on that he is paying to be with someone he wants to save and is
not outraged off the bat. It says
inadvertently that this kind of exploitation “is not that bad” and that is a
lie, along with the wrong message to send, so this backfires.
Chris
Penn (in one of his last roles) and Udo Kier (here for creepy effect that does
not add up to much) also star with a mostly unknown abroad cast, though this is
well-cast. The conclusion is also problematic
and no mater how sincere, Holly does not say and do everything it needed to on
the subject and is mostly 113 minutes of missed opportunities.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is shot in 35mm, but is very soft and
weak throughout from the colors to the depth and detail. What went wrong in the transfer is hard to
tell, but if this is on purpose, it is a big mistake. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better, but has
a limited soundfield reflecting the limited budget and dialogue-based nature of
the production. Extras include Behind
The K11 Project, Anti-Trafficking Heroes Award and an
excerpt from the documentary “Children
For Sale”.
- Nicholas Sheffo
