It's difficult to say you enjoyed a movie about human slavery, especially the sex trade industry which does exist. To think that people like this walk the streets in our communities is disturbing and very troubling, but sticking our collective heads in the sand and pretending it doesn't happen or won't happen is being unrealistic. This movie is based on a true story, one girls journey into a living hell. The movie has all the elements of a top notch production including suburb acting, direction, and story development. This movie is not what most would call entertainment, but the story is compelling and needs to be told, and this cast of characters does a truly remarkable job in delivering a riveting, emotionally draining story of depravity and human survival. While this movie is not overly sexually graphic, it delivers the message loud and clear. Bravo to the entire production staff for making a movie that will leave you thinking about this one for a long time to come.
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dgefroh25 October 2012
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kosmasp1 December 2012The theme of the movie is very heavy. Mostly that theme is being handled in documentaries and not feature movies like this one here. And even if, it mostly handles it generally, as opposed to here, where you have the main focus on our main character. A sort of revelation and a great role to play, for an actress who's in quite a lot of movies recently (including Premium Rush and others).
Part drama, part thriller it obviously isn't aimed to be entertainment in a sense other movies are. But if you can handle the tough subject and if it's something you can watch, you will be rewarded with a really good movie, that is acted great throughout and has something to say (not only for itself, but in general). -
Every now and then I see a movie that just hits the spot. This is one of those movies.
I watch a lot of movies on DVD because they often never make it to the theater here in Australia. One of the good things about doing that is you can stop and start it anytime you like. This is one of those movies that I did not stop watching from start to finish.
While it is a very simple movie with very little in the way of action or graphic violence it is still a very disturbing and haunting movie that will stay with you for a long time after you have finished watching it.
Jamie Chung as Eden was perfect and she held my attention throughout. Matt O'Leary as the cool and hardened Vaughan was also very believable. The rest of the cast also did an excellent job and made the movie what it was.
Don't watch this movie if you have a weak stomach. Even though there isn't much over the top violence, just the thought of what is going on could turn your stomach.
The fact that it is based on a true story makes it all the more heart wrenching.
8 out of 10 for me. -
Ed-Shullivan14 September 2017Some viewers would say the film was weak on portraying how the human sex traffic trade takes full advantage of unsuspecting teenagers (boys as well as girls) by scooping them off the street due to these teenagers own ignorance to the extent of the sex traffic trade, and/or more likely by raising these teenagers self worth, albeit temporarily, until the pimps have full control of them.
Whether or not this film is loosely based on a true story of a young South Korean girl named Chong Kim should not be what the majority of the films audience should be focused on, nor the disappointment that a movie that is based on the illegal sex trafficking lacks any gratuitous x-rated sex scenes. Instead what the viewers like myself absorbed from Miss Chong Kim's ordeal is we need to do a better job as a nation in realizing how extensive the sex trafficking trade really is, and what we all can do to stop it.
Firstly, there would be no sex trafficking in North America if there was no demand for the supply of teenage girls (and boys). In this film actor Beau Bridges does more than an adequate job as the corrupt law enforcement officer Bob Gault. Some of the other reviews commented that this is not realistic that a law enforcement officer would be a leader in the sex trafficking ring, but every year law enforcement officers across North America are found guilty of many criminal offences and the important "breach of trust" crime.
Actress Jamie Chung who plays the young teenage female victim Eden (with braces on her teeth), who was easily duped by a young man in uniform to foolishly feel safe enough to take a ride in his car and then she was quickly moved into the sex trade is a wake up call for all teenagers. The key message being there are many wolves in sheep's clothing and we as a nation have to be more engaged in stopping this corrupt criminal behaviour. Of course the actress Jamie Chung was taller, thinner, with a buff body than the shorter and heavier real life Chong Kim. I felt Jamie Chung did a great job in portraying the real life Chong Kim and how the victim had to adjust to a life in the sex traffic trade over the years she was imprisoned.
I would also suggest to those critical viewers who scoffed that the dozens of teenage girls who were imprisoned under lock and behind gates in a storage locker as being unrealistic, lets be clear, regardless of where these teenage girls were being housed when they were not working on their backs or knees lets just agree that they were not living the life of a socialite like Paris Hilton, or as a madam like Heidi Fleiss. No I am quite sure that the teenage girls who are really imprisoned by pimps and actively (today and tomorrow) engaged in the sex traffic trade are living in squalor, eating poorly, and have absolutely no life or ambition to speak of.
I thought the director/co-writer Megan Griffiths did an admirable job of finely balancing the need to NOT over sensationalize the graphic sexual plight of these young teenage girls, but instead emphasize how young women need to appreciate how easily it is to find themselves victims if they do not pay a lot more attention to the wrong type of people who could easily over power them if they are not a lot more careful as to who they choose to socialize or even be in the wrong place (like a bar, a public park late at night, or a pool hall) at the wrong time.
This is a clean enough film that I would suggest parents of all young teenage girls as well as teenage boys should watch as a learning tool. This is real life sex trafficking that we should not ignore, but we should be doing a lot more to prevent. I give the film a fair 6 out of 10 rating for "lessons learned". -
MarkCrozier4 September 2020I watch a LOT of movies so I'm used to formula, which all too often is what is relied on these days. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by Eden because it's not in the least predictable, and I can only imagine that's because its based on a true story. I don't know how MUCH of it is true but you can definitely see that elements are not the product of a script-writer's imagination.
Why? Because they are simply too sickening to be made up. I won't discuss the plot elements, other than to say it's about kidnapping young women to sell them into a life of sex slavery. Yeah, fun stuff! That said, it doesn't rub your face in the gruesome details of what the girls are forced to do, but rather focuses on the experience of one person, the Eden of the title, as she works to free herself from a seemingly unwinnable situation.
Played by Jamie Chung, at first she seems to be an almost unbelievably naive and trusting person but gradually her gritty determination is revealed as she turns the tables on her kidnappers. This part is the most satisfying because it's not far-fetched or predictable. The characters are all well-played, with a rare turn by Beau Bridges as a completely evil SOB.
Jamie Chung is very believable in a demanding role that requires her to be in every scene, and plays it very low-key throughout, using her magnetic eyes to great effect to express what's going through her mind. Matt O'Leary also does very well in a supporting role.
This is a very important film and needs to be seen as widely as possible. I have a teenage daughter and I want her to watch it. As a cautionary tale, it does a terrific job. Far more horrifying than any horror film. -
smfilm30 November 2012Eden is a movie that will stick with you... it is harsh, brutal really, and gives the viewer a look at human trafficking in the US that 90% of the audience will label as so over the top as to be melodramatic fakery...
That 90% of the audience is flat wrong... this is a true story by the real 'Eden', Chong Kim.... if you've seen the movie, reflect back on the things that happened in it for a couple of minutes knowing that they are true.....
EDIT: it has been since alleged, most likely correctly, that Chong Kim manufactured the story and was never actually in this position. While regrettable if true, it doesn't change the fact that the overall story is true to life.
It's a devastating and surprising story about the reality of slavery that exists here in the USA, today, in our cities. The relatively simple plot turns it into a pure acting display by Jamie Chung and Scott Mechlowicz.
The stark reality about how, while driving amongst our McDonalds and WalMarts, people can be owned, brutalized, used as money machines, then thrown out in plastic bags when they lose their usefulness is shocking, and both actors turn in great performances as the slave who turns to being a master to survive and the owner who teeters between monster and friend.
The winner here is Jamie Chung, who puts in a career changing performance with a LOT of raw emotion. She possesses such an incredible beauty that it's very hard to imagine her delivering on the 'mangled by life' emotion of her character, and while it did trip up a couple of scenes, she overall delivered in a big way that is sure to get noticed. It is a deep, moving performance. She was a reality star a couple of years ago, and now she's doing deep indie drama and pulling it off...
This very deserving subject was served well by an obviously committed cast and crew. Remember while you watch that tens of thousands are imported to the US as slaves every year and people can be bought for as little as $400 on the street... people... -
It's just utterly terrible how the underage girls gets kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Like how it's shown in this movie and how it also happens in real life. The kidnappers and the people running the business and is part of it is just downright vile and isn't something you can even call human beings. Even the clients are twisted and have messed up mentality going. But the thing is this movie just isn't heart-wrenching or hits the core as I thought it would. Maybe it's because of the direction and the way the story is told, it just didn't have that emotional impact that hits you in the heart or gut. Like movies such a "Bad Guy" 2001 or "Compliance" 2012 did. Although it's based on the true story about a person name Chong Kim, the direction it takes, loses it's impact and just isn't haunting or anything like that. Like I said it must have been a horrifying experience to go through and get their innocence taken away by these ruthless scums that are portrayed in the movie. But as an audience besides feeling bad for the victims it just didn't have the momentum it needed and just didn't stick. This movie as a whole seemed like it's missing a lot of bits and pieces that needed to be there for it to deliver but it just doesn't. It's a shame a story like Chong Kim is shown through a movie that doesn't capture the emotions because it just seemed to lack many parts. It does give somewhat of a hope in life, and how it can still go on. But when it comes down to it, it's still one of those movies that starts off attention grabbing but falter as it progresses.
6/10 -
dzhaviland27 May 2021I started watching this movie and while the acting was excellent, despite other commenters saying the scenes weren't too graphic, the first two sex scenes were incredibly graphic in the sexual acts they forced the girls to do. The first was an SM scene where both girls were hanging handcuffed and one was whipped, the other a girl was forced to give oral sex, bit the man's penis off and ran with blood all over her face. Did they show the actual whipping or biting, no but it upset me so much, I turned it off. Now I am not squeamish about pornography nor am I naive about sexual violence but I couldn't imagine any other scenes they could have done that would have been so vile to teenage girls. They also drug the girls, keep them in trailers in their underwear and constantly threaten them with "cutting off their legs" or hurting their families. This was all in the first 30 minutes so it's like being hit over the head with a sledge hammer over and over. You are forced to feel every emotion these girls are going through, mainly just constant horror and fear of what they will have to do next.
Now I absolutely agree a movie on sexual slaves is meant to show what really happens so I won't fault them. I just want people to know if you have been a victim of sexual violence in any way, it may be too much for you. -
Human trafficking is such an antiseptic term. It intellectualizes and softens something that is absolutely horrific. It's the type of term that lives in the world of academia and statistics. There's no emotional impact, no default outrage, no real teeth to it. I prefer to call it what it is, slavery. At this moment it is estimated that up to 4 million people internationally and up to 50,000 people domestically are held by human trafficking rings.
To put a finer point on it there are, at this moment, 50,000 people owned as slaves in the United States. Not historically, not descendants of freed slaves, but actual living breathing human beings living as slaves right now. This is not just a forced labor situation either; we are talking about forced prostitution.
Some are sold by their parents, some are recruited into domestic service jobs only to find out when they are in another country with no ability to leave what the job really is, and other are taken right off the streets in the US and forced into it.
A majority are women and almost all are under 18.
These numbers are jarring, alarming, and disgusting and nowhere near enough people are aware of them.
Eden is the true story of Chong Kim, a Korean American woman who, at the age of 19, went to a bar with a fake ID, had a drink with a very nice fireman who offered her a ride home. He pulled over to make a phone call and by the time she realized that something was wrong it was too late. She woke up in the trunk of a car and began a harrowing two year long nightmare of isolation, forced prostitution, and every type of abuse and degradation you can imagine. This is not an easy or comfortable film to watch, but it is about something so very important that I believe it needs to be seen. Much like Damian Harris's "Gardens of the Night," which follows the younger spectrum of this abhorrent practice, it sheds light on a world so blackly dark and hidden from view that most people don't know that it exists.
Unlike "Gardens," which shows a world so vile and reprehensible that it exists entirely behind the curtains and closed doors, "Eden," shows a normalized and, in some ways, accepted trade. It's in the shadows, yes, but it is still in the light. The people who trade in it are somewhat open about it. There are parties with men in suits, fraternity parties, and underground S&M clubs where this type of traffic is a normal part of business. It's an entirely corrupt world where even the law cannot be trusted.
Director Megan Griffiths does an outstanding job of finding the small pieces of humanity in a dehumanized world and contrasts them with the inherent brutality of the situation. Her direction is unflinching but not exploitative, honest but never preachy, and powerful without being manipulative.
The performances are phenomenal across the board but the film is moored by two standouts. Jamie Chung creates a heartbreakingly real woman whose sweetness and innocence are stripped away. Matt O'Leary gives an amazingly nuanced performance as Eden's crack smoking handler. He is hateful and repellent, but is also very real.
This is a rare film in that it has changed the way I look at certain things. You hear terms like "human trafficking," and "forced prostitution," and are justifiably horrified, but they are just abstract concepts. Seeing the reality of women forced to live in dark storage lockers, four to a room on bunk beds, and knowing that it is happening now, in my country both horrified and sickened me. Suddenly, these concepts were no longer concepts, but living breathing facts.
In a world where millionaire athletes and musicians throw the world slave around it is fairly sobering to have the reality of it shown so plainly.
I rarely use the term "important," to describe films as even the most "important" films rarely are. Usually it really means "self important." This film however deals with an issue most of us would rather pretend doesn't exist, but that is far more important than can be expressed.
"Eden" shows evil in its truest form. The evil that allows people to profit from suffering, the evil that exists when good people don't stand up for what is decent, the evil that exists in a world where girls (and let's be clear they are GIRLS) can be treated as disposable property.
Related Films:
Very Young Girls- Documentary about teenage girls forced into prostitution.
Gardens of the Nigh- Fiction film about a girl kidnapped into the world of child sex trade.
More at www.thefilmthugs.com -
view_and_review12 March 2022Based upon the real story of Chong Kim, "Eden" is a gritty story of sex trafficking. The main character is Hyun Jae (Jamie Chung) who was given the name Eden after she was kidnapped.
I'll admit, I was rather indifferent when Hyun Jae was first kidnapped. I know it sounds very cruel and heartless, and it's nothing I'm proud of. She used a fake I. D. to get into a bar for some underage drinking. If that wasn't bad enough, she took a ride with a strange man. Essentially, she checked all the boxes for getting kidnapped or killed. You can huff and puff all you want about how she should be able to safely go home with a guy she just met, but then I'd have to say you're quite naive. There's a reason doors have locks on them, and it's not because people are breaking in and leaving gifts.
My indifference turned to the fear and anxiety for her that was warranted. When I saw the warehouse she was stored in as well as the network of corrupt individuals helping to keep her and other girls locked up, I was looking for blood.
I did not expect the human trafficking ring to be as organized as it was. I don't know why not, it takes more than dumb luck to do something so illegal involving so many people. It's disconsolate to see these women being treated like sexual cargo, and even more depressing, as in no hope for humanity, when you see how many people are complicit in such a despicable crime. "Eden" rightfully brings out those emotions. If you don't have at least an inkling of compassion for the women depicted in this film, then either the movie failed or you're dead inside.
Free with Amazon Prime. -
I realize this subject carries gravitas, and I also realize that the intentions behind the film are good, but this is presented as a dramatic piece and not a documentary, so, to speak of it only in terms of the merits of its subject matter is not particularly helpful if the object of a review is to also address film-craft. Understandably, this movie deals with "white-slavery" and is not purporting to be about inner city black teen prostitution, but I couldn't help notice that the film makers walk an ambiguous aesthetic line when it comes to portraying exceedingly beautiful girls in detention whose hair and makeup is rather inexplicably ready for prime-time whenever the camera cuts to a close-up to show them rolling out of bed in their underwear. No effort is given to show the day to day crafting of that beauty image if that is supposed to be the point; rather, we are left to wonder how much of our own voyeuristic sentiments are being teased by this somewhat glamorous dramatization. Characters are not well defined in this film and their dialogs are piling up the missed opportunities to deepen our understanding of their merging predicaments. Though much attention seems to be given to the protagonist, little is in fact discovered about her transformation. The "Eden" script often feels like it resulted from a weekend course in screen writing, after the author learned to plug-up emotional holes with convenient tricks, like losing a high school ring that is supposed to symbolize the link to family, etc. The henchmen and orderlies in the "prison facility" where she is held are cut out of cardboard and resemble the comical beefy sidekicks in low brow action flicks. It is wholly unclear what they get out of this deal, or why they stay at all. If indeed their motives and rewards are sexual, we would never know it, because the picture dances around its main horror-show: forced sex. I know that in America, sex is and will always be a problem to be skirted, however, since this is a film about forced prostitution, and it is implied that the main character might be a virgin at the onset of her ordeal, it boggles the mind that the story is presented so as to avoid direct confrontation with its own most pressing crisis: violence and rape. Understandably, portraying those in the correct measures is challenging but that is precisely what determines the measure of quality, and craft, in a film which is supposed to tackle such a hard and mature subject - on the other hand, it seems inconceivable to me to deal with sex-trafficking as a dramatic piece by prudishly dancing around the reality (I am tempted to write Reality with a capital "R") of sex being forced on young women as their lives are being destroyed. Whitewashing is the word that comes to mind. Even if we agree that some things cannot be shown, Eden's own dialog persistently avoids confrontation with her own sexual experience and discovery. Clearly, good intentions went into this picture, and actors Jamie Chung, Bo Bridges, and Matt O'Leary give it their best shot, despite having little to work with most of the time; still, after viewing the movie, I listened to a 20 minute pod-cast interview of Chong Kim, the woman whose ordeal this film purports to be based on, and discovered that her (real) story is in effect a much stronger dramatic piece. Incidentally, when I first watched the movie Taxi Driver in the 70s, I was still a teenager, and the portrayal of the fictional teen prostitute played by Jodi Foster affected me deeply - one reason is that her character's plight is distinct, and strong. She is not the protagonist in the film, but so much was accomplished with so little, because the picture as a whole was so well crafted that its impact reverberates on and on. Film is craft.
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jennabrett6 August 2012Saw this movie at SIFF and STILL can't stop thinking about it. Script, direction, acting, and cinematography are all impeccable. The three leads are perfectly cast. Matt is desperate, hardened, and yet strangely likable. Jamie does a fantastic job as well in a role that requires serious vulnerability and emotional depth. Megan Griffith's directing is superb and the style and tone of the overall film is spot on. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time because the story is so captivating and hard to believe. I'm dying for this film to hit theaters, because it is so incredibly well done. I want to read the memoir it's based off of after seeing the lengths this girl went to to escape from captivity. Thank you for tackling this story and subject matter!
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Reno-Rangan3 December 2013They are saying it was inspired by the true story of a Korean-American Chong Kim but I don't know whether it is or not. I thought it was just a gimmick to promote the movie. For me the movie looked very intense in most of the parts. If it is true then I think they have failed while translation from realism to a movie. That means you must not consider it a totally defective movie. But it gives a fair idea about how actual forced prostitution works apart from that we had seen in other movies like 'Trade' and 'Taken'.
Eden is just turned 19 who lives in New Mexico with her parents. On her birthday she goes to a pub with her friend to celebrate but soon after she will be abducted by a man who said he's a firefighter. In the next time she wakes up, finds she's in a strange place with strange people around. The days go on she plays equally fair to them expecting loopholes, an opportunity to her getaway. Does she get the moment that she was awaiting for a long time is what the rest of the story discloses.
We had seen Jamie Chung in many flicks as a sidekick but she got a real opportunity in here to exhibit her acting skills in a lead role. She was excellent and better than even I expected from her. That confirms it is her best performance for till now.
It was kinda disturbing to see young teenage girls kept in the cellars like the zoo animals. There are some scenes in the movie where inmates are killed by the system runner. It was very cruel but thankfully it was not shown. Yes, not only that, even sex scenes were very well censored, in fact they show none in anywhere in the story. Whatever I say and others think you should not easily discard the movie from a watch. It's a good message movie which alerts innocents to be cautious about such illegal activities by the perverts. So that makes you should take a look on this movie.
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Rob-O-Cop15 October 2012Maybe I'm jaded, I'm sure I am but I just spent a good couple of hours looking for more information on this true story and came up with nothing apart from mentions of this movie and interviews with the main players.
The movie itself is well made and yes disturbing, even more so since it's true,.... but the implications of it being a true story are huge, and the evidence of anything about these huge implications are completely missing from the official record. A network of kidnappers running a sex slave ring on American soil with members of the American police force involved high up in the organisation. Those are some serious allegations. And a women escapes the clutch of these murdering kidnapping crime lords, and tells the story, that's got to put a price on her head and make her a target? And we'd expect to see some notes run before the credits filling us in on the details of this case, because it's based on a true story, but we get nothing, and there is nothing we can find, there is no movie website that fills us in on the rest of the story. Just the main character telling her story, unsubstantiated and alone. It may well be completely and devastatingly true but because of the way this film presents the information and the fact that they've used the 'based on a true story' tag, that brings a certain degree of responsibility, and it's possibly one of the main failings of this film. Nothing is substantiated outside of the people involved in this movie.
As a story it stands up OK, but as a true story, well the story remains half told. Can anyone find any more information on this case? Did nothing come of her allegations, did no one get caught? Is there any evidence to corroborate this story outside of Chong Kim's words? Surely for a story this big there should be a trail of arrests and investigations. All the online material links strictly to Chong Kim and interviews with her. None that I could find links to her case from a third party or the police. Suspension of disbelief? I don't know what to think. -
Human trafficking is a recurring subject and it deserves to be told and retold however many ways it can. I've watched many of those movies and two stand out for me, Trade, the 2007 brilliant and powerful work by Marco Kreuzpaintner starring Kevin Kline (you need to see it) and Eden, the real story of a survivor like few others. In 2012, Jamie Chung had a supporting role in Premium Rush, which should have helped boost her starring role in this drama directed by Indi writer/producer/director Megan Griffiths.
Chung was as good as can be in the role of Eden (that's the character's name); such type of character is never easy to play and make believable, but I feel she pulled it off. If you can get passed the fact that it is subject that has been exploited, pun intended but not in jest, the story of Eden makes for a good thriller as well as a good drama.
I enjoyed seeing Beau Bridges in a villainous role; he played that part like the pro that he is. You won't see his demise coming the way it does; I'll say no more for I don't wish to spoil one of the good things about the movie, or the plot. I recommend it if you want to see a rising star by the name Jamie Chung. -
valis19491 September 2013THE ABDUCTION OF EDEN (dir. Megan Griffiths) The film is supposedly based on the true story of an American based prostitution ring run by a high- ranking police official. However, the film merely recycles the themes of lurid sexual fantasies and physical abuse found in the 'Women In Prison' sub-genre of exploitation films of the 1960's. THE ABDUCTION OF EDEN (this seems to be the title of the film at Netflix) is a competently made 'B-Movie' with a first rate cast that employs the 'damsel in distress' plot-line to emphasize the very real issue of human trafficking. If this film is actually based on a true incident, I would really like to find out where and when that it occurred. However, whether or not it really happened as portrayed in this film, it certainly makes for an engaging story.
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SnoopyStyle20 June 2015It's June 1994. Hyun Jae Eden (Jamie Chung) works at the family store. She goes to a bar with her friend Abbie and a fake ID. She meets Jesse and gets a ride home from him. She notices that he's a fake fireman but it's too late. She's kidnapped. Federal Marshall Bob Gault (Beau Bridges) kills a Deputy and a local who found a dead girl in a ditch. He runs a rape camp that has many girls imprisoned out in the desert. After a year, Eden starts to befriend the crack smoking lackey Vaughan.
It's not realistic enough to be harrowing or compelling. It's not horrific enough to be scary. It's not a thriller. The problem is that it plays more like a B-level horror without any scares. It is simply one ugliness after another. Eden needs to plot an escape and make this more like a prison movie. Jamie Chung tries to maintain a realism to her performance showing flashes of humanity while keeping her facade. It's a functional drama. -
ger55champ2 August 2020Not very good acting on show in this .Even the storyline is pretty ridiculous .And the director really fails to give these kind of crimes any series credibility. It's just average for me
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As you've probably surmised, EDEN is not entirely "fun" to watch, but it's no more disturbing than it has to be. It's also rewarding in its revelation of an often-ignored problem in this country via a well-detailed and riveting story-line. Director Megan Griffiths did an outstanding job of treading a very thin line, making the film as tasteful as possible considering the subject matter--i.e., no gratuitous nudity--without sugar-coating the story. The level of empathy the audience attains with these poor girls is most acute. EDEN is quite convincing despite several stretches and unlikelihoods. While the plot of this film may appear predictable at first glance, there are some truly unexpected developments here.
Though a bit larger-than-life in places, Jamie Chung is just hypnotic as victim-heroine "Eden." The script is similarly believable and carries a lot of weight in developing Eden and the other characters. The mistrustful alliance she builds with one of her abductors (well-played by Matt O'Leary) is as immediate as everything else in this film and is one of its realest aspects. The supporting cast who play characters we never get to know that well, particularly Tantoo Cardinal as "The Nurse," also contribute a great deal to EDEN's success.
The "Behind the Scenes" Special Feature should not be missed after watching the film itself. -
A young Korean-American girl goes out one night with a friend, and she meets an off duty fireman, in uniform, at a bar. While chatting with him, her friend kind of wonders off,, so the fireman offers to take her home. While driving, he's telling her all the right things, and she's becoming more smitten by the second. Then he pulls over. A car pulls up behind them and stops. He gets out and goes to talk to whomever is in the other car. She looks in the back seat of his car and sees that there are several different types of uniforms (police, army, scrubs, etc). She realizes something is obviously wrong,, and as she tries to escape someone grabs her,,,
Wow,, this movie is eye-opening, to say the least. One of those movies everyone should see. It's not one that'll win awards (not big ones, at least), but it really keeps you invested and paying attention to what's happening to the lead character (Chung). While not gratuitous, the director didn't shy away from depicting the horror and fear girls that are abducted and trafficked go through. What would someone in this situation do in order to survive? -
When I read the storyline behind Eden, I was eager to watch it so as to have a glimpse of perhaps what Chong Kim (the person on whom this movie is based) would have gone through when she was kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Sadly, the movie fails to deliver.
Now I can understand that bringing this real life story to the big screen cannot be an easy task, considering they have take into account the sensitive nature of the same; but the movie does a botched up job of trying to grip its audience of the grueling ordeal that Chong Kim had to go through and frankly speaking its quite disappointing.
Let's begin with the screenplay, the movie starts on a good note and just when you think its going somewhere; it totally skips ahead! Its as though the director just cut out a ton of scenes in between and jumped ahead, and that's where you totally lose interest in the movie. It starts to look like a puzzle that lacks all the pieces to turn it into something that makes sense and that's where the movie just starts to drag terribly. I don't know if the director was even making an attempt towards establishing a strong base for the protagonist as a character. To me, it was as though Jamie Chung was just doing her lines and some form of movements which I certainly would not call as acting. Again, Matt O'Leary's and Beau's performance too was just ordinary.
So there you have it folks, I would not recommend this for even a one time watch and that truly is a shame because I do feel Chong Kim's story needs to be heard by everyone in order for us to know what's really going on out there in the world. The world gets a little darker every day as we lose sight of our humanity and I think that there are plenty of good media out there for letting the people know the real story of not just Chong Kim but the millions more like her. I give this movie a 5 on 10 only because I read a few articles of her story and the tough times she went through, and that has sort of influenced my rating here; so in terms of film making as a whole, I'd say the crew involved have done a shoddy job. -
AudioFileZ11 October 2012One can only imagine that the movie Eden will spend the later months of 2012 gaining great traction among viewers. This movie grabs the viewer and doesn't let go as the true story of Chong Kim is brought to the screen. Chong Kim was kidnapped for simply doing what any curious teen might do in a momentary lapse of reason: go to a bar and leave with a stranger. What happens next is absolutely harrowing. Kidnapped Chong becomes "Eden" and is forced into prostitution in a western states prostitution ring with international connections to Dubai.
Though seemingly in the middle of a nowhere desert, the ring's "prison" is nearby the Las Vegas area. These felons have some kind of impunity that seems absurd in the United States. This is no small part due to a Federal Marshall who is running the show for whoever the puppet-masters are. The ring seems to have both a degree of sophistication and a kind of sloppiness making it hard to fathom the fact they have been operating for years enslaving very young girls, killing those who either cause trouble or are no longer useful, and well as murdering potential threats including officers of the law. It easily seems sensational that it is occurring as such in the USA, but we are assured it is, in fact, true as witnessed and lived by Chong Kim.
While Eden has a very indie feel it never seems to be hampered by what is, probably, a modest budget. The cast is led by an outstanding performance by Jamie Chung playing Chong Kim. Seasoned veteran Beau Bridges plays Federal Marshall Bob Gault quite well as man who believes he is untouchable even as he creates his own downfall. The only role that seems out of place is that of number-one Gault underling Matt O'Leary as Vaughn. He is a train-wreck of a person whose drug use and reckless nature doesn't fit in the role of a business-like crime boss. You know with this character calling the shots for the higher-ups there is going to be a fall. That's exactly what happens too when Eden plays out her only chance to survive by gaining his trust and, seemingly, working with Vaughn; an idea that could have easily resulted in her death with one wrong move.
Eden moves slowly and deliberately with nary a break in the tenseness it conveys. Director/writer Megan Griffiths obviously is quite talented even though she only has a couple of sole director credits thus far. This movie holds the viewer with lurking doom until the gratifying ending. A modest movie of a child's horrific story that you might think could never happen in America. All the more reason you should see, recommended. -
Poptart_Psycho2 November 2015There was controversy over this movie, not for the storyline but for the fact of if its real its claimed to be based on real life events but trying to do research comes up with dead ends. Regardless of this the film was well executed.
Jamie Chung plays Jae a young Korean-American in New Mexico in 1994. She obtains a fake ID for a night out with her friend. At the club she meets a handsome man who appears to be in uniform. Feeling safe she leaves with him but within minutes is abducted. Woken up in a warehouse full of beds and separate rooms in what looks to be a well looked after establishment but turns out to be a forced prostitution ring. Lead by a volatile crystal meth addict Vaughn the women are forced to go to bars, clubs and houses to work. A year has passed Jae is now called Eden and has realised the only way to escape is work with them. And of course perseverance pays off Eden is lucky and the final scene captures the movie of a phone call to her mother An underrated film on a very troubled issue in todays society -
The movie begins with a plausible and gripping premise - a young Asian woman in an immigrant family strays just slightly too far and ends up being a victim by a ruthless kidnapper. After that, however, the plot quickly spirals out of control. So much so, that the suspension of disbelief that is required to sustain the viewer through any drama is quickly lost.
Firstly, there are small details that makes the viewer skeptical - hastily injecting a mystery drug (but allegedly morphine) into the antecubital fossa and the back in more than one scene which causes nearly instantaneous euphoria/sedation. Or, maybe the scene where the protagonist sprays an unknown cleaning spray into a crack pipe which causes death within minutes.
But, more importantly, it's the story in its entirety that causes so much skepticism and thus ruins the experience. This story is presented as being "based on a true story." However, after many hours searching the internet for evidence about the story, one can only find interviews with the person that the move is based on. There are no court records, no stories from reputable news outlets, no corroborating confessional interviews (keep in mind the movie depicts the protagonist as being held in a prison of sorts with dozens of other under-age girls), no information whatsoever to confirm that this hellish story is even loosely based on a true story. In the movie, an esteemed U.S. Marshall is depicted as committing murder and operating a highly organized underage sex-trafficking operation. Furthermore, he himself is murdered by other characters in the story. How could that even loosely be based on a true story, yet there is absolutely no similar story in reality that can be elucidated?
This movie is either based on a story that is very loosely based on a true story, or is completely fabricated. If this movie was sold as a fictional account, it may have been more enjoyable. However, the melodramatic scenes mixed with the implausible details makes it drone on until the anticlimactic ending. -
eddie_baggins27 October 2014A small budget movie with a big story to tell, Megan Griffith's (no relation to Jordan, as far as we know) Eden is a movie that despite its limitations set forward by its financers is a movie that remains constantly engaging from start to finish even though it never reaches any great emotionally affecting heights that makes you think this story could easily be done once more in a manner that would make the most out of an horrific yet worthy true story.
There have not yet been many high profile movies set around the hot topic of sex trafficking/slavery yet there are now many stories out there told by real life participants in what is one of the world's most lucrative and shameful industries. Eden is based on the real life tale (or is it real?) of Chong Kim here portrayed by the capable Jamie Chung who while not instilling Eden with a huge emotional heft, has many fine moments in a role that would of required a lot of her emotionally. While Chung is good as Eden the film finds a real power in its supports from grown up Frailty child actor Matt O'Leary and veteran character actor Beau Bridges.
O'Leary as young drug addicted runner of the operation Vaughan and Bridges as Marshall/slavery organiser Bob Gault are both great in some very creepy turns. Vaughan in particular is an on edge and believable participant in this horrific business while Bridges oozes slim as cold and calculating Marshall Gault. With these fine turns by the two male leads it acts as a showcase for just what Eden could have been had it found a way to tap emotionally into what these situations really meant for these poor women and those invested into it financially and while director Griffiths has enough flair behind the camera to suggest she has a career in the industry there needs to be more thought on how to wring the most out of her stories.
Eden is a small film worthy of your time, if not only to highlight the oft forgotten world that it depicts in all its unsavoury and harsh elements. With some very fine support turns and with a finely tuned pacing, Eden is a low budget film once more showcasing that budget does not make or break a movie if it has a worthy story to tell even if the film squanders a chance to make the most of its emotionally ripe story.
3 stiletto shoe heels out of 5
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