Whores' Glory

...but it is important. It has stuck with me, & over the years, I've thought about these women. If a movie sticks with you, then it succeeded. And this movie succeeded.

Any reviewer who didn't "like" this, missed the point. And as for that "top" review, who said the film makers didn't delve into the prostitutes lives enough, what makes you think their profession didn't dominate their daily existence? Sex work would taint bonding with others, except for the small few that share in their mutual destruction (other prostitutes, other addicts, etc). This is an important movie, everyone should watch. (And how can you be have the top review with 36 down votes?)

Whore's Glory is a documentary about prostitution. There is no voice over, no narration, no script. It merely records a visual documentation of the lives of prostitutes in three different venues (located in Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico).

Of course the film was edited, but other than that, it provides an unfiltered view of prostitution. It focuses on the prostitutes themselves, enough so that the viewer sees the conditions they live in/under. They sometimes talk to the camera. We learn of their sorrows, their problems, and how they deal with the realities of prostitution.

In Thailand, the girls do not seem as victimized. Oddly, some of them spend much of their money on the "bar boys" who entertain women for money.

In Bangladesh, these women are truly victims of economic hardship. Women bring their daughters into the business. Society is so stratified that people's choices are limited. The caste system still controls much of life there.

Because the camera is just an observer, there is no glorification of the job. In all three locations, waiting is a large part of the job. Religion and superstitious mysticism play a part in the women's lives, just as for others in their societies.

One woman in Bangladesh who comes across as more sensitive, perhaps more intelligent explains the horrible reality she must confront every day, saying "Women are unhappy creatures." Philosophically, she wonders why it is that way and how it can change.

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.

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.