Whores' Glory

Many of us tend to forget how lucky we really are living like we do, having the opportunities we have. This documentary is a powerful way to remember it. For once, a documentary about prostitution that can be compassionate without being condescending. A must watch.

While the chitchatting girls of Bangkok may initially make you think it's actually not that bad, the back alley brothel in Bangladesh kicks you in the stomach. Remember while watching: 100 Taka = €0,95. And while the men are reduced to (nasty, ignorant, or at least naive) animals that can't help but exert their primal urges ('without the brothel all women would get raped all the time' is a telling quote), it's the madams' treatment of their girls that will truly horrify any viewer. The documentary ends slightly surrealistic, though not unsuitable, in a drug-fueled Mexican red light area.

What probably struck me most were the small rituals, often merely casual habits, that are used by the girls to keep hanging on in their incredibly hard life.

One can argue (as I'm sure has been done) whether 'dramatic' music in such a documentary is fitting. Nevertheless, the film is gripping, beautifully made, and if it wasn't such a nasty side of humanity the images and music would be enchanting. But without a happy end.

And, as the saying goes.... "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

*Be Warned!* - Whores' Glory is an extremely stark and vivid "human-nature" documentary that (due to its sad, depressing, and startlingly candid subject matter) is certainly not going to appeal to everyone.

Filmed exclusively in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Mexico - If you've ever been curious to know what a whore's life might be like, then here's a professionally presented production that'll certainly open your eyes to all of the ins & outs (pardon the pun) of such a down'n'dirty business as that of the prostitution trade.

Competently directed by German film-maker, Michael Glawogger - My one big beef about Whores' Glory has to do with Glawogger's choice not to document the ways and means of whores both in a European setting, as well as a glimpse at all of the slutty action in America, too.

I personally think that that would have given the viewer a much more rounded perspective on the "world's-oldest-profession" as it exists today.

*Special note* - While visiting Liberia, film-maker, Michael Glawogger died in 2014 (at the age of 54) from malaria.

Whores' Glory is a difficult, essential watch. It strips away the judgment and the exoticism often tied to this profession, leaving only the grim, repetitive, soul-crushing reality. You leave the film haunted, not by judgment, but by a deep, helpless sorrow for the girls-the ones whose youth was consumed by poverty, the ones whose bodies became commodities, and the ones who had no other path. This is a powerful, if painful, tribute to the resilience and the quiet, desperate humanity of women surviving in the world's oldest and most unforgiving trade. It is a film that makes you mourn for their lost innocence and their confined destinies.

This feeling escalates into a genuine, helpless heartbreak during the Bangladesh segment. Confined to a walled-off, desolate community, the extreme poverty and the sheer youth of some of the girls are devastating. They are trapped in unsanitary, brutal conditions, often sold into the work by their own families. You see the tired, resigned faces, the hardened cynicism already setting in on those who should still be children. Their dreams, when articulated, are heartbreakingly small-a hope of simply escaping the cycle, a quiet yearning for a life that feels impossibly far away. The pity is overwhelming; their struggle is not just against men, but against the systemic failure of the world.

The film is interesting and powerful, albeit depressing. No idea how the director got access to give us such a candid look, but this is a dark side of the world you won't see anywhere else. The subject is self explanatory, if you're at all interested about the lives of these women in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Mexico then you should experience this.

My one critique is thematically, the movie is about prostitution in abject poverty, not prostitution as a "job", but does not make any distinction. The prostitutes in Bangladesh and Mexico he shows were in absolutely horrifying conditions - they were forced into it, threatened if they tried to leave, and barely paying for food. Whereas in Amsterdam, Germany, and even many in Bangkok treat it as an occupational choice. They can get other jobs, but choose to do this. Those are two VERY different circumstances that can have very different effects on people physically and emotionally.

That would be my critique to keep in mind while watching. The movie is not so much a commentary on the evils of prostitution or even the lives of prostitutes, as it is delving into the darkest depth of what desperate conditions can bring.