Was lucky to view two movies, which could be considered extended documentaries, that highlighted the actions of two extraordinary Americans-- Captain Chesley Sullenberger in the movie Sully and the ex-Nebraska cop, Kathryn Bolkovac in the movie Whistleblower.
It is always good to see people who are good at their jobs in action. The first was a re-enactment of a jet airliner being successfully landed on the Hutson river; the opening scenes were the Captain's nightmare of crashing into a skyscraper in NYC, bringing up memories of the 9/11 tragedy. The director made note of the other first-responder teams which resulted in no loss of life, considering people were in the Hutson River in January! Surprisingly, the film highlighted that it was not plain sailing for the Captain who lost quite a few sleepless nights in the immediate aftermath, having to justify his actions which were later proved to be the only feasible course as there were initial disputes about the left engine still being viable. Literally seconds counted! It is still a mouth-opening feat however you look at it and one I find still unbelievable...except it happened!
The second was a bit more stomach-turning. Whistleblower noted the big-money contracts given to corporations during crisis situations and how there is no accountability and cover-ups on a grand scale with the accompanying exploitation of the poor and vulnerable who all this money is purported to be helping. The real life corporation DynCorp - given a similar name in the Movie had since renamed itself as DynCorp International and basically carrying on with the same shit of/with no accountability. And the perps in this case got off scott-free! So in the movie this cop applies for a post to police post-war Bosnia, she gets lucky to befriend a Dutch soldier earlier on and a policeman in the Bosnian police force who actually wants to do good. The movie gives glimpses of the lives of traffic-ed young women lured from Eastern Europe with promises of jobs-- not prostitution -- and who are forced into prostitution. In this instance it seemed the US policing branch were heavily involved-- first as clients then as enforcers for the traffickers and even trafficking the girls across borders themselves. I had backpacked in that area before the War and found the grey concrete jungle creepy-- the movie shot several scenes that I got worried for her while she investigated, as she didn't have the usual other cop watching her back...
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/un-sex-trafficking-whistleblower-feted-in-film-2192045.html
and she earned the disapproval of her fellow (male) officers and superiors. Those in charge in the UN accepted the goings-on as part of the human collateral of the post-War. Sadly because there appears to be no mechanism in place - French UN peacekeeping soldiers were accused of rape and sexually exploiting girls and children in the Central African Republic and other African soldiers within the UN peacekeeping force were accused of something similar in the early part of 2016...the film was set in 1999...so looks like the movie didn't make the impact it should of!
My only criticism of the movie was that they tried to be authentic by using accented people but I found it difficult to understand what they were saying - also in some scenes when the actors were using low voices - and feel subtitles would have been handy.
It is always good to see people who are good at their jobs in action. The first was a re-enactment of a jet airliner being successfully landed on the Hutson river; the opening scenes were the Captain's nightmare of crashing into a skyscraper in NYC, bringing up memories of the 9/11 tragedy. The director made note of the other first-responder teams which resulted in no loss of life, considering people were in the Hutson River in January! Surprisingly, the film highlighted that it was not plain sailing for the Captain who lost quite a few sleepless nights in the immediate aftermath, having to justify his actions which were later proved to be the only feasible course as there were initial disputes about the left engine still being viable. Literally seconds counted! It is still a mouth-opening feat however you look at it and one I find still unbelievable...except it happened!
The second was a bit more stomach-turning. Whistleblower noted the big-money contracts given to corporations during crisis situations and how there is no accountability and cover-ups on a grand scale with the accompanying exploitation of the poor and vulnerable who all this money is purported to be helping. The real life corporation DynCorp - given a similar name in the Movie had since renamed itself as DynCorp International and basically carrying on with the same shit of/with no accountability. And the perps in this case got off scott-free! So in the movie this cop applies for a post to police post-war Bosnia, she gets lucky to befriend a Dutch soldier earlier on and a policeman in the Bosnian police force who actually wants to do good. The movie gives glimpses of the lives of traffic-ed young women lured from Eastern Europe with promises of jobs-- not prostitution -- and who are forced into prostitution. In this instance it seemed the US policing branch were heavily involved-- first as clients then as enforcers for the traffickers and even trafficking the girls across borders themselves. I had backpacked in that area before the War and found the grey concrete jungle creepy-- the movie shot several scenes that I got worried for her while she investigated, as she didn't have the usual other cop watching her back...
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/un-sex-trafficking-whistleblower-feted-in-film-2192045.html
and she earned the disapproval of her fellow (male) officers and superiors. Those in charge in the UN accepted the goings-on as part of the human collateral of the post-War. Sadly because there appears to be no mechanism in place - French UN peacekeeping soldiers were accused of rape and sexually exploiting girls and children in the Central African Republic and other African soldiers within the UN peacekeeping force were accused of something similar in the early part of 2016...the film was set in 1999...so looks like the movie didn't make the impact it should of!
My only criticism of the movie was that they tried to be authentic by using accented people but I found it difficult to understand what they were saying - also in some scenes when the actors were using low voices - and feel subtitles would have been handy.
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