The Movie:

Guy Moshe's 2006 drama stars Ron Livingston as an American named Patrick who lives in Cambodia where he makes an easy living playing cards and fencing stolen goods. He's been living in the area long enough that he's become indifferent to the problems that have sprung up around him, until he meets a young girl named Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a girl of only twelve years old who has been sold by into prostitution in Cambodia by her dirt poor Vietnamese family.

The fact that Holly is a virgin makes her worth more on the black market and eventually a slimy child trafficker buys her. He hopes to sell her at a premium but Patrick's morals kick in and he decides that if no one else is going to do anything about this then it's up to him to save her. His quest takes him around the country, from the quaint and beautiful countryside to the sleazy, filthy inner city brothels of Cambodia's K11 red light district in search of Holly in hopes that he can save her before it's too late.

Shot entirely on location in Cambodia (the brothel scenes are shot in actual Cambodian brothels), Holly is pretty heavy stuff as it tackles the uncomfortable issue of child slavery and child prostitution, something a lot of films would much rather shy away from than confront head on. The film isn't trashy or exploitative at all but it definitely goes far enough that it shows us, in no uncertain terms, how grim a reality kids who find themselves in situations like this have to face.

Performance wise, Ron Livingston is rock solid in the lead. He moves from relaxed indifference to believable concern as the story progresses and we don't ever have a problem accepting him in the part for even a second. He's as good here as he was in Band Of Brothers and he proves that he's just as good with serious dramatic roles as he is with the comedic parts he remains best known for. Alongside Livingston, look for good supporting efforts from the last Chris Penn (in his final role) and the immortally cool Udo Kier, though really, more could have been made of their parts. Thuy Nguyen is also very strong and natural feeling in her role and the chemistry that she shares in her friendship with Livingston's character quite genuine.

Technically speaking, the film is nicely shot in that it's got, at times, a claustrophobic and rather dingy feel to it that works well in the context of the story. Moshe and his crew use a lot of close ups to build tension but aren't afraid to pull the camera back to explore the various locales employed in the picture. The image is sometimes a little on the grainy side though this looks to have been done on purpose for visual effect.

Ultimately, Holly might have been better served as a documentary rather than a feature and at close to two hours it's about fifteen minutes too long but the good definitely outweighs the bad here. The acting is solid throughout, the story is interesting and entirely believable (almost too believable, sadly) and the picture is well put together. On top of that, it should help to bring at least a little bit of exposure to a truly horrific problem that affects far more people than a lot of people probably realize.

The Video:

City Lights presents Holly in a nice anamorphic 2.35.1 widescreen transfer that doesn't look quite as good as you'd expect a two year old film to look. First off, it has not been properly flagged for progressive scan playback. On top of that, there's a murkiness to the darker scenes that robs these moments of detail. Color reproduction is natural enough and skin tones look pretty lifelike, which is nice, but there are some mild compression artifacts evident in spots as well as some minor shimmering. On the flip side, there aren't any problems with dirt, debris or print damage. The transfer is perfectly watchable, but it certainly could have been better.

The Audio:

The English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix on this DVD comes with optional subtitles available in Spanish only. The audio on this release is actually pretty decent. While it isn't as active as a lot of modern action films, it does feature some good rear channel action in the form of sound effects and ambient noise. The score is spread out nicely and dialogue stays clean and clear throughout playback. Bass response is strong and there are no problems to report with hiss or distortion.

The Extras:

City Lights has provided three supplements on this release, the first of which his Behind The K11 Project (8:01) which takes a very frank look at child slavery around the world and how members of the K11 project have taken it upon themselves to bring more exposure to this problem. There's some pretty disturbing and all too real footage in here of impoverished kids living in horrible conditions as well as pertinent clips from Holly that relate to this issue. Interviews with the actors from the film and with the people trying to make a documentary on this issue flesh out the featurette.

The Anti-Trafficking Heroes Award (5:03) documents what happened on August 5, 2008 when Adi Erzoni and Guy Jacobson were given the Anti-Trafficking Heroes Award by the US State Department for their efforts in honor of their efforts in bringing awareness to this issue. It's not particularly in-depth and much of it plays out like a PR piece but once that award is given out there is a quick interview with the pair that is reasonably interesting.

Last but not least, the Excerpt From "Children For Sale" Documentary (5:54) is, as it sounds, a clip from a documentary that takes a cold, hard look at the reality of child trafficking in Southeast Asia. Made up of testimony from those who have been exploited, it's grim stuff. Static menus and chapter selection round out the extra features.

Overall:

Despite its grim subject matter Holly is a really well made film. The transfer could have been better but the extras are interesting (if necessarily depressing) and the audio is fine. The movie itself makes for an interesting watch and while it might not be a film that you go back to time and time again, it still comes recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.