The story: Set in the Balkans, it follows a young girl whose mother has been killed by soldiers and if forced to work in a prostitution house for soldiers. The soldiers like to brutalize the girls, so her job is to keep them drugged up and to clean them up after the men beat them. However, after befriending one girl who is savagely attacked, she attacks her attacker, setting the soldiers after her.
Was it good?
Half of it was good. First, let me say it is a powerful concept for a movie. This isn't your typical kids-in-the-woods stuff. Seeing this prostitution house (based on a true story) makes for a powerful (disturbing) experience. In addition to the drama of this girl working in the house is the story that the operator of the house is in love with her, setting up another powerful dynamic. And for the first half of the movie, it is a powerful movie experience. The acting is also excellent. The whole cast is good and Rosie Day especially was fantastic. The set design and the directing (for the most part) were very good too. Part of what makes the first half work so well is the mood and atmosphere they have build for the place and the way the director follows the main character as she goes about her duties tending to the girls and slipping in and out of the vents as her only way of having any sense of freedom and control. However, after she attacks the first soldier and the soldiers go after her, the movie quickly slips away. The story devolves into little more than chase after chase. Instead of going for emotional depth, the script goes for action. Even worse, by the end of act two they have her leave the house. What was a tense, contained thriller for the first 2/3rds, now becomes little more than a generic chase movie. What hurts the movie even more is that the chase elements as usually pretty stupid. For a thriller to work, you want the characters (hero and villains) to be smart, to think ahead and plan. Here the villains just chase her, pretty much one by one, and even when they grab her or could shoot her they don't (or they miss).
However, while the movie definitely doesn't live up to the potential of its concept or it's cast, there is still a lot here worth recommending. It's not a fun horror movie, and not an easy movie to watch, but for people looking for a powerful movie experience and able to deal with the violence/sexual brutality, the movie has more impact than 99% of what is out there. Hopefully the director will learn from this and next tiem get a better script.
*** RECOMMEND ***
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