Breaking Glass Pictures - ‘Carga’ On DVD A Review

Starring Netflix’s “1983” Michalina Olszanska in a breakout performance, 3-time Golden Globe winner Victor Norte (“Cinco dias, Cinco Noites”), and international model Sara Sampiao in her feature film debut. 

Synopsis:

A truck driver tormented by the load he carries. A road that should lead to a better life. Human beings treated as goods for selling... In a capitalist society where each person focuses on their own needs, it is easy to forget about those around us and only do what is best for each of us. This is the story of Viktoriya, a young woman who throws everything away in search of a better life. From the moment the doors of the truck where she travels open up, Viktoriya is confronted with the cruel reality of human trafficking. Can she escape her fate?

The 411:

Knowing this is very real in our world, made the movie much harder to watch.

We follow two main characters Viktoriya a woman trying to escape her life only to be forced into a human trafficking situation and Antonio the driver with a conscious who is using his truck to transport people for the mafia to help take care of his wife, daughter and granddaughter.

The dark shadows used in the film transmit the vile organizations that support and exhibit selling human beings. It all felt all too real and harsh. Selling souls is a obviously a lucrative business run by power and money hungry degenerates who will hopefully burn in hell yet the film has you seeing the monsters as struggling souls as well. Everyone is trying to make their way through this sometimes difficult life. . I am not a huge fan of subtitles but there is very little dialogue in the movie so it didn't take away from the acting which was stupendous. My heart hurt after watching.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

HUMAN TRAFFICKING CROSSES ALL BORDERS AND CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE Tackling the issue of human trafficking, Carga is mainly a film about choices, survival instinct and strong women who do not give up, and a cargo that above all is emotional and that all the characters carry. My preoccupation with social themes is the painting of a rough portrait of the realities that humans often choose to ignore, but they are always part of what I write. IS ANY PART OF THIS STORY BASED IN REAL LIFE OR SITUATIONS? For seven years now, I and my producer have worked on several documentary stories. Once we had the story of a man who came to Portugal in a truck. This man did not want to come to Portugal, but he trusted someone who made a promise to him, but he was betrayed. Lost near Lisbon and unable to speak English or Portuguese, for a long time he was not able to ask for help. When I started writing the script, I always had this idea in my mind: how far can we go when we have nothing? How are the choices made? And when we are vulnerable, what can happen to us? I was very worried when I checked in and investigated how traffic networks operate. It was very important listen the stories of several persons connected to ONGS that work with human trafficking victims. That part of the process was essential to understand how close is this reality is from all of us. Viktoriya’s journey is not real, but represents the journey of millions of persons around the world that are caught in human trafficking networks. The fact is that these networks have victims at various levels and that is portrayed in the film. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE TITLE? All the characters have in their shoulders a bigger cargo that they can handle with. The film talks about choices and about the egoism of society and where the survival instinct often prevails above the common good. My concern as screenwriter and director of the film is to work the gray areas of the characters from the concept of “good people do bad things and bad people do good things.”. Despite that, all of them will live forever with the consequences of their choices. WHY IS THE FILM SPOKEN IN THREE LANGUAGES? In “Carga” we are confronted with the cultural differences and with the misunderstandings that the linguistic barriers can have on us, which was the reason that led me to cross 3 languages in the film: Portuguese, English and Russian. Communication in this film is power, that ’s why Viktor talks in english with António (despite he knows the truck driver speaks and understands the language really bad), but when he wants him to obey he speaks in Portuguese to make sure that he understands every single word. Now put yourself in the shoes of someone like Viktoriya: she doesn’t understand a word that those men are saying to her, she is suffering, afraid and even when she escape no one understands her language. How can you save yourself if no one understands you?

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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary product for my honest opinion. No monetary compensation was offered.