The Jammed
Directed by Dee McLachlan.
The Jammed reveals Australia's prostitution underworld. Highly graphic at times, it exposes the ghastly industry of international ladies used for sex slavery. These ladies hope to start a new life in the lucky country and experience the Australian dream, however, after arriving in Australia, they find out they're to work in an illegal brothel. Ruby (Emma Luna) is one such girl, promised the dream, she travels to Australia hoping to work as a dancer to pay off her sponsor.
Ruby is not alone, Ashley (Veronica Sywak) and Vanya (Saskia Burmeister) are all in the same position. These three ladies are kept under lock and key and constantly have to look out for one another. An incredible bond formed between the ladies and it was this strength that really made the drama believable.
With the conclusion shot concurrently throughout the film, writer/director Dee McLachlan brought fantastic warmth. Somehow, unlike most other try-hard Aussie dramas, this one definitely hit the sensitive note. And thankfully there was no cheesy sound track. It's not hard to see this film was inspired by actual events. McLauchlan included some graphic material which formed great contrasts between the sophisticated Melbourne we know, and the underworld that's never seen.
For some surprising reason, it's only had a limited release and has escaped the attention of the Melbourne Int'l Film Festival and Australian Film Industry??? With some fantastic Aussie performances from Alison Whyte ( Frontline and various) and Andrew Gilbert, this was a well-rounded film.
Undoubtedly, the best scene was when Ashley (Veronica Sywak) used WD40 as capsicum spray. Being an engineer, this was very impressive. This is only one reason why I definitely recommend this as a must see. This is definitely a $13 film and is one of the best Aussie films I've seen for some time.
