For King and Country’s Priceless works to inspire action against sex trafficking

How much would you be willing to risk for someone you only met once?

In the new movie Priceless, main character James Stevens is faced with this tough question when a cross-country truck-driving trip goes awry. Though he was told to drive straight through the country with no stops and questions asked about what he is carrying, he soon runs into a problem that makes this impossible. When he is run off the road, James is forced to check on his mysterious cargo and realizes- instead of drugs or weaponry like he had expected- he is actually transporting a pair of immigrant sisters. These sisters, named Antonia and María, believe that they are on the way to become maids to atone for their father’s financial debt.

When he finds out- after watching them leave with their supposed saviors- that they have instead become victims of sex trafficking, James risks life, limb, and reputation in a difficult struggle to undo his mistakes and atone for his sins by rescuing the sisters. The story is one of love and loss, fragility and strength, and it touches on an important message: sex trafficking still happens in today’s society, and people must take action to help victims like fictional sisters Antonia and María and to dismantle the framework that holds these girls (and many more real girls like them) imprisoned.

Priceless, which was created by For King and Country in conjunction with Roadside Attractions studios, is based around the band’s song of the same name, which encourages the equal treatment and equal worth of women in today’s society. The band’s stake in the movie is not just over the use of their song, though; James, the main character, is played by one of the band’s two frontrunners, Joel Smallbone. The Grammy-winning Christian group has even performed the song in select theaters before movie showings, traveling throughout the United States on a concert/movie tour (though unfortunately none of the destinations for this tour, so far, have been in Ohio).

There was also book written, under the name Priceless: She’s Worth Fighting For, to model the movie and its message in another popular format. The novel came out before the movie’s release, on September 6th, and follows the same plot as the movie itself.

Priceless the film has received both widespread acclaim and scathing criticism from viewing audiences.

One writer from Variety Magazine, Joe Leydon, called Priceless “surprisingly involving” and “slickly produced”, stating his shock that the movie was not just another stereotypical Christian flick. He also wrote that Ben Smallbone, director of the film and brother of For King and Country’s Joel and Luke, is a “master of suspense” and that the movie managed to show its message very clearly despite the lack of explicit scenes and crude language present in many modern dramas.

Other critics disagreed, however, stating in one case (as written by Susan Wloszczyna of

RogerEbert.com) that “what should be a lean and taut thriller based on true stories is about as exciting as watching wet socks bounce around in the dryer.”

In my opinion, the movie had many strengths to help boost its powerful message: great acting, cinematography, costuming, scriptwriting, casting… The list could go on. I was thoroughly entertained throughout its duration, and I really did enjoy it, though it did have some parts that could be seen as drawn out of preachy (especially to non-Christian viewers).

There were other downfalls, as well: the plot had many components that were never explained- or even some that didn’t exactly make sense in a modern context- and instead of coming off as encouraging or inspiring, the film’s message may come off to some as cheesy or artificial.

This doesn’t mean, however, that it was a poorly executed or uninteresting film- rather, viewers should go into the movie expecting to be entertained and moved toward action, but not expecting to be able to analyze every facet of the plot without questions at the end about how things turned out the way they did.

All in all, I did enjoy the movie, but that may be because of positive biases that I have in regards to the band and all of their work. I loved the message of the film, and I believe that it is indeed worth watching for anyone who wants to hear more about human trafficking and its effects through a story rather than facts or statistics. However, Priceless is not showing in every theater across the country, and the nearest theater is in Strongsville’s South Park Mall, so it may not be worth the thirty-to-forty-minute drive for most people.

AUTHOR EDIT: This movie has been discontinued in several theaters since the article was written, so please check out www.pricelessmovie.com if you are interested in checking up on current showtimes and theaters.