WHORES' GLORY is the kind of documentary that sticks with you for a very long time. Honestly, I'll probably remember this film for the rest of my days. Told without any narration or voice over WHORES' GLORY gives the viewer an intimate look at the lives of prostitutes in three different locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Faridpur, Bangladesh and a Reynosa, Mexico.
The first episode takes place in Thailand at a brothel called Fish Tank where the girls (nearly all of them in their late teens and 20's) sit in a brightly lit room behind a glass wall. Men pick who they want, pay and then go upstairs for a roll in the hay. All of the girls seemed pretty happy and upbeat, some even spent their hard earned money on local "bar boys" that as far as I can are just pretty dudes that get paid to party with lonely women. Very strange. I wish it had gone further into this cause it whole thing didn't make much sense to me. I guess they just really like to party.
Next is a very, very depressing brothel in Bangladesh that could double as a set for a horror movie. Made nearly entirely of concrete and metal doors, the hallways are narrow and labyrinthine filled with sad looking prostitutes (some of them very young and at least one very old), animals, random children and johns. Most of the prostitutes seem to only be there because there is literally no other place else to go. Uneducated and penniless they waste their youth spreading their legs for a roof over their heads and food. Very depressing.
The third and final episode is an enclosed drive through area called La Zona in Mexico where dudes drive around dodging potholes and checking out hookers. The prostitutes here seem pretty businesslike and generally in a good mood. A lot of them seem to be older professional whores that go into it like any other job. With individual living areas, a steady clientele and easy access crack they appear to be happy.
Happy on the outside or not, I did feel sorry for these women. Most of them seem to have never been given a fair chance in life and ended up as a prostitute solely for the money...although there was that one Mexican chick who seemed to be all about the dick and truly happy. The majority though, especially in the Bangladesh portion, seemed to have their souls ripped out.
