Born Into Brothels (2003) Reviews

What a truly wonderful documentary! I couldn't help but wish I could bring every one of the children born in to this situation home to live with me. It was inspiring to see how a simple thing like taking pictures could bring these children to life.
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I began watching this film only to find that all the children's comments and interviews were in their native language and there were NO subtitles. The woman director made comments throughout (at least as far as i watched) i found if really annoying that you did not know what the kids were saying I even looked it up on line and found that the director's commentary in "special features" may be the best version to watch if you really want to know what is going on in the movie. There still was no way of telling in this version what the children were saying either but at least you got a better idea of the jist of it all. I shut it off after 45 minutes fighting to find a subtitle version only to find the commentary of the directors instead. I got so annoyed i couldn't bear to watch it at that point....as i had wasted so much time trying to figure it out i lost interest! I am sure it was much better than my rating if i had some subtitles. I would suggest a version with subtitles!
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This really just should have been a documentary on public television (it might have, but not sure). Somewhat interesting doc. on children of whores in India. One person trys to do well by them. It just didn't really grab me.
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One of the best docu mentaries I've ever seen. There is a thick mood of despair all around the subjects, but somehow you can't help but feel some hope permeate throughout the film. Whether this is the reality of things or just wishful human thinking is another thing. I think it's the lengths that Zana Briski is willing to go to for these kids that illuminates an otherwise dreary and depressing film. The film never lingers on long goodbyes for the camera, and it never sets out to find a bad guy. It seems to exude nothing but truth and hope. And as false as that may be in the long run, it's incredible to be so wonderfully sucked in.
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