joanna
Warning: topics covered below are of a violent nature & may be triggering.Synopsis: widower who loses custody of his daughter" (through violent drunken behaviour & self-absorbed grief) takes on new job: drive a truck across the country, no questions asked. But when he discovers what he is delivering (a very attractive young woman & her little sister) "he is faced with a life-changing choice.The two young Mexican sisters enter the US illegally to pay off their father's debts. Expecting to work in waitressing type jobs they actually find out they've been sold to a prostitution ring. What you need to know is that the movie is advertised as Human Trafficking awareness & as a Christian film. Both statements are wrong. Below are just some of the major problems of "Priceless".1) It's all about... him. Poor him faced with choices, poor him needs to save the day, oh how he suffers, and seemingly thinks there isn't much urgency, (or any authorities in the whole USA whatsoever to turn to!), while the sisters go through hell every extra hour he wastes... He also perfectly fits all the stereotypical categories of what a hero supposedly should look like: young, healthy, good looking, white, male, & American.2) Women characters are emotionless & passive - even after sequestration, rape, & forced prostitution. "Heroine" even blames male protagonist for not stopping her getting into the pimp's van, even though she entered it willingly & knowingly. She does however stick up for her teen sister, but has no other substance to her character. The helpless damsel in distress.3) Only his crush is worth his effort saving - several times the "hero" tries convincing her to abandon her little sister & is frustrated at her refusal!!? And the other women in need of rescue aren't a concern to him at all... 4) Major suspension of disbelief is a requirement for the viewing of this movie. For example:
irresponsible father regains custody of his child the same year he punches & threatens someone with a gun to their head... in a packed kids' parkanother man is murdered but somehow manages to change his will from beyond the grave, to leave some land to a yet-to-be invented association at time of his death5) Women, once "used", then as good as dead - as is eloquently explained to Mr. Rapist Pimp:
"You are a murderer. There's no difference between a murderer and someone who steals a girl's innocence and kills her soul." Because apparently to the writers of "Priceless" female rape survivors have no more soul...!! Both unBiblical and harmful.6) Heroes & villains live by one same law: that violence is the key & fists are the tool.7) Care about women, do you? Just not enough to employ them though, right? Men are given credit 26 times (!!!) before a single woman's name rolls by in the credits!8) At 1:35:00 we finally get the movie's message: human trafficking awareness... by promoting its OWN website, which in turn then promotes various intervention-capable associations & emergency phone numbers. Why was any of this directly inserted into the movie storyline and/or at the end, for viewers to take note of? So what was the point of the movie... 9) Why would the movie's website recommend for ex-sex workers to join an addiction recovery program. Seriously. How more ineducated and insulting can you get?10) Under the website's "Give" section is written: "One of the best ways to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of children is through eradicating one of the root causes of the issue, poverty".
Except NO. That's blaming the victim. The N°1 cause of trafficking? Men's greed & lust. Invest in educating male populations too!11) The "Representation Test" by the "Miss Representation" Team result, as of now, for this movie: F.As a woman, a Christian, and a human being, I am disappointed at the lost opportunity, and shocked, saddened, and disgusted at this men-centric vision of life. "Priceless" is a feel- good movie for men, by men, about men.
Xlyfindel
I had no idea what I was getting into with this movie. Throughout the whole film I kept getting the feeling that it was really trying hard to make the good guy look cool. To make doing the right thing seem like the right thing to do. I really like that. The bad guys weren't overly glorified or vilified either. I don't think they went too far, and it doesn't smack of the in your face over the top cheese-fest that other movies dealing with the subject usually have. I know the story well from made-for-TV movies though never was it so professionally shot or well acted. There are only a few gripes i have about the movie, and they are personal irks that I can understand probably were taken into consideration and decided against by the creators. 1,) I really wish they had used the word RAPE at any point in the film. Everything else was so honest and boldfaced that it seems a shame to try and sugar coat it with euphemisms and allusions. 2,) The end seems really rushed and cut short. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, but I believe it is because they needed to get their message out after the climax instead of a concise denouement. 3,) They could have done a better job with working in the daughter and her relationship and importance to James. As it is it seems a bit contrived and little fake. None of those are great detriments, and the message is important too. The movie was legitimately entertaining and kept my attention from very early on. I'm planning on watching it again with certain friends and recommending it as well. I'm glad I saw it.
greyphoenix-07733
Beautiful movie, powerful and touching. Very emotive acting, and good story. Well written. One thing that irked me was the background music; I have hyperacusis and the background sounds/music was loud where the speech was very low which meant pain when trying to struggle to hear them talk. However it was far more enjoying because they kept mentioning god. I had no idea it is a 'faith based' movie. Very very annoying! What a monumental shame. Why did they have to ruin a film that could have been such a real winner? As an atheist I was angry at having this thrust upon me. I was abused by the church and frankly this sort of thing offends me. They should leave 'god' out of movies, or at least warn us so we can avoid watching them. Yes issue a 'faith based movie' warning.. please!
