SPANISH FILM FESTIVAL – The Longest Night
Review by Geoff Jenke
Dana (Noëlle Schönwald) is a smart and beautiful woman who is forced to resort to prostitution to make a living. All she wants is her freedom so that she may reunite with her daughter in Colombia. Enduring with false hope, Dana must surrender most of her income to the leader of a human trafficking ring who both protects and exploits her. When her daughter’s illness and an addiction to pharmaceutical drugs prevent Dana from delivering her usual share, she struggles to pay off the debt. But an unexpected event will give her the opportunity she needs to break free from her captor and take justice into her own hands.
Director Gabriela Calvache delivers a bold and affecting feature debut about human trafficking and the people who prey on its victims, mostly children and woman. The movie was made with 80% of the production crew being female.
The Longest Night is not a nice movie. It becomes obvious very quickly that this will not have a Pretty Woman ending. Set in Ecuador, the first third of the film is totally disjointed in that while it is mainly telling the tale of Dana, the prostitute, we get an insight to one of her lover’s life. He is a doctor who has a child and has apparently split up from his wife. Then we see a young girl get “taken” by dubious characters after an earthquake and also get to see young girls being forced to work in sex clubs.
The movie is a slow burner but never gets boring. The stories start to intertwine in the second third of the movie and at times, certain scenes become difficult to watch. Sexual slavery is not a topic many film directors would cover, but according to the credits, over 20 million people are involved in slavery in the modern world. Far many more than centuries ago.
As the movie goes into the final scenes, we get a slight glimmer of hope that all will end well for Dana and the young girl, as the doctor Dana has been seeing offers to help Dana rescue the girl. It becomes an edge of the seat thrilling climax.
The final credits are shown over young girls in a sex club dancing, trying to lure men into having sex. A bitter reminder that human trafficking is a crime that will not go away.
The Longest Nightis not a nice movie, but it is one you should see.
One more screening at Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas Monday 13 May at 8.45pm
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