Whores’ Glory

Year: 2011

Grade: B+

Country: Germany

Director: Glawogger

Review

reminiscent of “body without soul,” though not quite as harrowing as that documentary. it’s about prostitutes who live in bangladesh, thailand, and mexico. we spend a third of the film in each country. very fly on the wall and doesn’t comment in anyway that i could discern, either through editing or framing. there does seem to be a theme of how religion plays a role in their lives (hence the name which is a riff on “god’s glory”). for example, a prostitute in bangladesh is instructed by her woman pimp to not give oral sex. “just tell the client that my mouth is for reciting the word of god, not for sex.” bizarre stuff.

life is pretty simple for these women, though. they have sex, they get paid, they do drugs (the ones in mexico), and that’s their life. i did the conversion for the ones in thailand ($30/hr) and bangladesh ($1.40/trick – garment workers make about $38/month, for reference). it’s pretty amazing. documentaries like this are good to watch from time to time to be reminded how the other half lives. the prostitutes don’t hang out on international blvd. as much these days so i don’t have the near daily reminder of seeing them.