Film Files: Finley is Paradise in Paradise Highway

[Interloper]

Hala Finley, plays Leila, a young victim of human trafficking in the film 'Paradise Highway'. The film, by writer and director Anna Gutto, follows the story of Sally, a downtrodden, middle-aged, big-rig trucker whose only family is her troubled brother Dennis who is serving time in prison. When she visits him in prison prior to his release on parole he asks her for one last favor, a favor he owes to another inmate, to pick up and deliver a package across state lines. Sally agrees, however when she goes to pick up the package she discovers the package is a young girl of perhaps ten or eleven years of age, named Leila. Fearing for her own life and the life of her brother she takes Leila across state lines and delivers Leila to the drop-off location. Things go awry, however, when the man who arrives to take her is murdered by Leila in an act of defiance. Sally and Leila flee the scene of the crime and go on the run in order try to find a way to remedy the situation.

The film is particularly gritty in its depiction of human trafficking, however it lacks depth. The situation of the girls that are being trafficked is never really explored in any detail and the few details that are depicted are often unusual and uncharacteristic of the reality of human trafficking. The film takes place in the Southern United States and though the director appears to want to explore the horrors of human trafficking, she often relies on exaggeration and common public misconceptions regarding the nature of human trafficking. The characters in the film typically lack depth and motivation for their actions. This is particularly disappointing in the case of Juliette Binoche, who plays Sally, and the supporting character of the Morgan Freeman, who plays a retired policeman. Even the character of Leila lacks any real depth. It is unfortunate because I, for one, desperately wanted to know more about her and her unfortunate history that led her to become the victim of human traffickers.

Despite the lack of depth in her character, however, Hala Finley, as Leila, provides an excellent performance. She screams with ferocity, cries with conviction, and yells out the window out of elation at feeling the wind in her hair. She is the most compelling part of this movie. She is a very beautiful young girl and the film captures that beauty in all of its strength and frailty. There are some scenes where Leila is in various states of undress that are notable, however frequently these occur when she is disheveled or in a state of distress. However, it should be noted that there are very few films in recent years that have the courage to cast actors as young as Hala Finley in roles that deal with issues of a sexual nature, as in the case of a child trafficking victim. For that, I think both Hala Finley and the writer and director Anna Gutto should be praised.

Paradise Highway is a must see for pedophiles, if not for the misleading depiction of human trafficking, then for the superb performance of Hala Finley as Leila.

Interloper

[on the rocks]

Compelling premise.  Surprise this one slipped by me.  Or maybe I did notice this film existing but immediately dismissed it as a propaganda piece about sex trafficking?  Modern cinema is usually pretty heavy-handed and ham-fisted when it touches this topic; especially around children.  I'm thinking about that Tom Hanks film from a few years ago "News of the World".  Hanks is attempting to deliver an orphaned indian girl to some relatives and for some reason, there are these dudes who really, really want the girl for their whorehouse or whatever.  Like they go to extraordinary lengths to try and chase them down; and it strains plausibility.  After all, it's supposed to be Texas during Reconstruction.  Much more likely the bad guys give up after their first failed attempt and go snatch up some other little indian girl; of which there'd still be plenty on the Texas frontier at the time.

Anyway, thanks for the review, Interloper.  Maybe I'll check it out sometime.