Sadie's Sin - The Zwi Migdal's Reign of Terror
Logline
Sadie’s Sin is an epic-romantic tale of an innocent woman's torment as she is sold to the most prestigious brothel in Buenos Aires—The Tango, and her hero's journey across three continents, seeking her rescue.
Genre
Historical Fiction,Romance
Short Summary
Sadie Wollman, a young Jewess in 1924 Warsaw, has fallen in love with the handsome university professor—Alexander Kaminski. But when her traditional parents learn about this possible unholy matrimony to a gentile, they hastily arrange a brokered marriage to a wealthy Argentine Jew.
Sadie’s Sin is an epic-romantic tale of an innocent woman's torment as she is sold to the city's most prestigious brothel—The Tango, and the hero's journey across three continents, seeking her rescue.
Setting
Warsaw, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and New York City
Based on a True Story
Yes
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain
Plot - Other Elements
Happy Ending
Mature Audience Themes
Sexual Abuse
Main Character Details
Name: Sadie Wollman
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Charming,Desperate,Heartthrob,Romantic,Seductive,Sexy
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Development Pitch
Sadie Wollman, a young Jewess in 1924 Warsaw, Poland, has fallen in love with the handsome university professor—Alexander Kaminski. But when her traditional parents learn about this possible unholy matrimony to a gentile, they hastily arrange a brokered marriage to a wealthy Argentine Jewish business man—Ezra Porkevitch. Believing they sent their daughter off to a glamorous life of wealth and luxury, this young woman instead faces a new reality of becoming a Polaca, a sex slave to the Zwi Migdal, a Jewish organized-crime group trafficking young women into forced prostitution throughout brothels in Buenos Aires. When her lover Alex, a war hero of Poland, learns of the deception, he, along with his life-long friend Jan Mazur, seek to rescue Sadie from the grips of this wicked group of men protected by the Argentine political and law enforcement establishment. Sadie’s Sin is an epic-romantic tale of an innocent woman's torment as she is sold to the city's most prestigious brothel—The Tango, and the hero's journey across three continents, seeking her rescue.
Genre
DRAMA, ACTION
Brief
A Jewish woman falls in love with Alex, a goy, or gentile man, in the post-WWI Warsaw. Her father, to prevent them from marrying, promises her to an Argentinian Jew, supposedly rich, but actually representing an international forced prostitution scheme. Now, Alex must save her from their hands before it's too late.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: GOOD
Characterization: FAIR
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: FAIR
Pace: FAIR
Premise: GOOD
Structure: FAIR
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
It is accurate, but the details about supporting characters are missing.
Draw of Story
The urgency of the main theme and the protagonist's struggle.
Possible Drawbacks
Some of the actions and situations in the story are unnecessarily stretched and feel a bit repetitive.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The hook is a reflection on how our prejudices tend to turn people around us and even ourselves miserable. And also men's cruelty against women.
Fanbase Potential
Not a large fanbase, but it could attract a mostly feminine and feminist audience, since it brings up themes that are of main concern in our modern society.
Awards Potential
With a good cast and crew, it could, since the theme, as mentioned earlier, is urgent.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
TAKEN - A FILM ABOUT A FATHER, WHO IS ALSO A FORMER FEDERAL AGENT, WHO GOES AFTER HIS DAUGHTER AFTER SHE IS KIDNAPPED BY A CRIMINAL SEXUAL SLAVERY ASSOCIATION. TRAFFICKED - THE STORY OF THREE WOMEN FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WHO ARE TRAFFICKED AND ENSLAVED FOR PROSTITUTION.
What’s New About the Story
The main theme is not original, but it is urgent, and, since it's dealt with in a story about a past time and age, it could be different than the usual fare. However, to be more unique, it could abandon some romantic clichés that end up turning the narrative less impactful than it could be.
Lead Characters
They are courageous, brave and passionate about each other and life itself.
Uniqueness of Story
Not really a rare gem. The structure and the characters should be better developed and the narrative itself would have to be more original for that.
Possible Formats
Film - Indie, Film - Streaming, TV Series - Limited Run / Mini-Series, TV Series - Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
While the story has many positive points, it has room for improvement (see possible paths below). If you can't change the story at this point, my suggestion is using your notes as a guide to highlight the best aspects of it when taking the next steps, either putting a pitch page together, a treatment, or a presentation.
Tips for Improvement
Besides the structural and characterization aspects already mentioned, the story also doesn't sound unique enough to be a very successful adaptation. First, it somewhat doesn't seem to determine that well what it wants to be. Sometimes, the narrative is a romance, sometimes it's a drama, sometimes it's a thriller, and sometimes an all-out action film. This is not necessarily a problem, but the author does haves some issues balancing the tones, and the narrative eventually feels awkward and out of place. The romantic clichés, which are strong especially in the beginning, don't go well with the more physical and visceral parts. Considering the story's denouncing nature, maybe most of those stereotyped characters and situations could be dropped to favor the narrative and make it even more shocking and impactful, which seems to be something the book is going for. In an adaptation, this could mean all the difference between failure and success with the audience.