What a waste of my time!!!

The greatest movie ever made..!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Co-written and directed by Guy Moshe, "Holly" is a well done movie aiming to bring awareness to sex trafficking of minors. It is very well filmed and competently acted by the leads. It achieves its goal. There's an air of despair and the score and music reflects this quite well. Having been to Thailand and Cambodia, the poverty is in fact real and eye-opening. Here "Holly" focuses on the greed, depravity, and complicity of so many involved in the story - most especially the women, who seem to head the the problem. As one character remarks, "hell has a place reserved for them already". Indeed law enforcement is heavily portrayed as part of the problem. Livingston's character does not have enough clout to pull things off and the ending is both ominous for the demise of Livingston's character, and yet perhaps hopeful for the girls character. Indeed the credits are prefaced with a statement for awareness of the problem. Recommended 7/10

Alright, this is one of those types of movies that will sinks deep into your psyche and stay with you for a long, long time. Especially because this particular, horrible child abuse is taking place every single day in countries around the world.First of all, a sincere admiration to the people behind this movie, for bringing this type of movie into existence, for having the guts to make a movie about this type of taboo, that we all know exists, but no one really talks about. It is a bold movie, but a powerful movie, a movie that hit you right in the face and leaves an impression forever. So, hats off to the people who made this film possible.And also to the actors and actresses who starred in the movie, be it lead roles or supporting roles, or even smaller roles that are not really important to the overall story. It is good that some people have the guts and courage to participate in making a movie about this terrible daily happening. And I admire Ron Livingston, Chris Penn and Udo Kier for their performances in "Holly" and for their ability to participate in this type of movie. In particular, I must mention Ron Livingston for his ability to portray such different characters as he have throughout his career, that he can manage this type of variety is just phenomenal. And also Udo Kier in the role of the German guy, giving a fairly good, though stereotypical, portrait of a sex tourist.Now, the story told in "Holly" is a story about child prostitution, slavery, human trafficking and more importantly, the story of a man's willingness to make a difference, even if just for a single soul. You should take to heart that the story deals with a very serious matter, and you might be offended by it. But in my eyes, the movie managed to take the matter of child prostitution, slavery, etc. and make it into a good story without being too graphic or without becoming a sleaze-fest.I am not familiar with the circumstances of which these events actually take place every day, but it is my belief that the movie portrayed this in a believable manner and I suspect that there has been some intensive research going on prior to starting shooting the movie.Now, there isn't a whole lot going on in the movie, yet "Holly" strikes you like a 40-ton freight train. It just has that much impact and levity. This is really a movie that needed be told a long time ago, and I hope that it helps to open the eyes for some people to what is really happening in countries outside our own little, closed worlds of safety and familiar habits. However, what does go on in the movie is straight to the point and very much in your face, leaving you with nothing else to do than take it all in and take it to heart.Having seen the movie, I feel that this is a movie that will be staying with me for a long, long time. It has profoundly set some marks in me and opened my eyes up to the world around me. And remember, you might think that your effort might not make a difference, because you are just one person, but take into consideration that you are not the only one thinking so, and together we can make a difference.Sorry, didn't mean to go all preachy, but back to the movie. If you haven't already gotten acquainted with the movie "Holly", you definitely need to get around to doing so. Purchase the movie, rent it, borrow it, whatever it takes, just get to it. This is one of those movies that you have to see. I am very grateful that I got acquainted with this movie, and I wasn't even aware of this particular gem, until I found it by sheer random coincidence.

The movie "Holly" is the story of a young girl who has been sold by her poor family and smuggled across the border to Cambodia to work as a prostitute in the infamous "K11" red light village. In the movie, Holly is waiting to be sold at a premium for her virginity when she meets Patrick who is losing money and friends through gambling and bar fights. Patrick and Holly have an immediate bond over their "stubbornness", but this is all disrupted when Holly is sold to a child trafficker and disappears. As movie goers, we are then thrust into Patrick's pursuit to find Holly again. Holly then shows her willingness to leave this lifestyle but her confusion on what is right and wrong. "Holly" carries us through the beautiful and harsh Cambodia while discovering that HOLLY is not just one girl. She is the voice of millions of children who are exploited and violated every year with no rights or protection.Holly is less extreme than its subject matter might suggest, such as documentaries that involve 4-year olds and sexual trafficking, but does manage to shed considerable light on Cambodian / Vietnamese trafficking of children into prostitution. It is a moving story that helps to shed light on the horrible situation in which many children face and their struggles to trust and realize what is right and wrong.Patrick, the antagonist of the film is an American dealer of stolen artifacts who is also losing money and friends while playing cards and getting into bar fights. While on a journey, his motorbike runs out of fuel, and he is forced to rent a room at a brothel. During his stay he comes across Holly, a twelve year old girl who has been sold by her parents and is being abducted into slavery and prostitution. Holly and Patrick begin a friendship of trust and understanding. He discovers a clever, stubborn girl beneath the traumatized exterior and becomes determined to save her -- though their strictly platonic relationship is misinterpreted by almost everyone they meet. When she suddenly disappears, he starts a journey to track her down, without having thought if he can really help her.Holly is able to escape on her way to another brothel, when she jumps from the truck and runs into a field filled with mines. A mine is set off by a cow and the truck driver believes she is dead, so Holly is then left on her own. During Patrick's journey to find holly he meets a social worker who tries to talk some sense into him and shares the facts with him that haunts the Cambodian region. The idea of paying for her freedom simply fuels the demand, she explains: 30,000 children in prostitution in Cambodia - next year it could be 60,000. "I'm not trying to save 60,000," he tells her, "I'm trying to save one." Patrick discovers that the idea of whisking her to safety is quickly put to rest when the social worker tells him that the US will not let him adopt and, although it takes five minutes to 'save' a child, it takes five years to reintegrate her into society. Patrick is not affected by the information and he continues his quest to find Holly.The audience is then shown that Holly makes it to a small town and is foraging for food with other homeless children. She is then befriended by a local policemen who seem little better than criminals with a badge, when they sell her to another brothel and then make a deal to a Vietnamese businessman who then takes her virginity. Holly then seems to think that this is her destiny and when Patrick finally find her, she is willing to "yum yum" and "boom boom" her distant friend. Patrick is utterly confused by this change in behavior, but he is not deterred in his plan to take her away from this world. In the end, he steals her away and brings her to a safe-land in the comfort of the social worker. Holly is given fresh clothes, if feed and brought to a dance class, but she is forbidden to see Patrick. This intense yearning to be in the comfort of Patrick's friendship, she runs away from the safe house and back onto the streets in Cambodia.Meanwhile, Patrick is dealing with the decision to leave the country and flee back to the United States or to stay in Cambodia. His thoughts continue to revert back to Holly and during a visit to a bar; an older male sees the picture he is holding and comments on his sexual appetite when he had sex with her. This enrages Patrick and he hits the man and runs out of the bar. Eventually, Patrick is caught by the police in the eyes of Holly, who is hiding behind a pole.The movie "Holly" may make the audience want to donate money towards organizations that improve the life for these poor youngsters, and even campaign to reduce the amount of brothels in the region, but the film's dramatic weaknesses may reduce its chances of being seen by enough people to make a difference. Overall, I think the concept is better as a documentary and it was not as touching as a movie. The actors did a great job of showing their raw emotion and the true confusion of the youngsters who are affected by this lifestyle, but in the end, the harsh lifestyle of the region and the desperate notions of the parents who sell their children to uphold their own starvation, does nothing to help the children's situations.

A flyer distributed in support of the film reads, "Imagine you've been bought, sold, emotionally abused and raped." Then, in smaller letters underneath: "Now imagine you're a four-year-old.Holly is less extreme than its subject matter might suggest, but does manage to shed considerable light on Cambodian / Vietnamese trafficking of children into prostitution. It's a sensitive film, backed by the K11 Project (named after an infamous red light area of Phnom Phen), and aims to raise awareness through a narrative story.Patrick is an American dealer of stolen artefacts who is losing money at cards. When his motorbike runs out of fuel, he comes across Holly, a 12yr old girl who has been sold by her parents and is being abducted into slavery and prostitution. Disgusted but powerless to help her, he offers her friendship. When she suddenly disappears, he starts a journey to track her down, without having thought through how he can help, should he find her.The film illustrates how girls are threatened with starvation or the kidnap of their siblings if they refuse to cooperate, and ultimately how they learn to solicit quite aggressively to sell themselves. Holly believes her situation is due to bad karma. She is betrayed not only by her parents (whom she forgives - they are near starving themselves), but repeatedly by police who seem little better than criminals with a badge. There is little variation in the film, either in terms of pace or context. We see hardly any of the beauty or wonder of the Far East, as if it is a land inhabited solely by bad people who exploit women; and once we realise that it is a project written and directed by the K11 project, although this adds some confidence in how facts are being presented, it also explains the lack of contrast, dramatic tension or cinematic expertise that could have raised this movie above the 'very worthy' level and get its message across to a wider audience.When Patrick finally meets a social worker who tries to talk some sense into him, the cold facts are quite chilling. The idea of paying for her freedom simply fuels the demand, she explains: 30,000 children in prostitution in Cambodia - next year it could be 60,000. We share his heartbreak on realising the scale of the problem. "I'm not trying to save 60,000," he tells her, "I'm trying to save one." The idea of whisking her to safety is quickly put to rest: the US will not let him adopt and, although it takes five minutes to 'save' a child, it takes five years to reintegrate her into society. Although a cliché, the idea of saving just one person does have the added value, however, that it humanises the mass of suffering individuals by allowing us to focus on a single person in a more three-dimensional way, so we do maybe relate to the thousands through Holly.Apart from a cameo by Chris Penn (shortly before he died), the acting tends to be anodyne. We see Holly after she has been raped, and are left to conclude her trauma by the presence of a few bruises and a distant expression. Similarly, there is little explanation as to why Patrick, something of a loser, goes to such lengths to befriend and protect a girl he has no connection with (other than portraying Americans as all-good saviours). The performances are adequate however, especially considering Thuy Nguyen (who plays Holly) is only fourteen.Holly may make you want to put your hand in your pocket to donate money towards organisations providing half way houses for salvaged youngsters, and even campaign to your local politician, but the film's dramatic weaknesses may reduce its chances of being seen by enough people to make a difference.