Born Into Brothels DVD Review:

With the advances in technology, it is possible for nearly anyone to make a film. Equipment is cheap enough that a good idea is most important. The rise in popularity of documentaries has made it even easier. No script is needed, just a worthy subject, and Born In Brothels has eight wonderful subjects.

When New York based photographer Zana Briski went into the red light district of Calcutta to photograph the lives of the prostitutes, but she soon found a much more interesting subject. The children of the prostitutes had a fascination with her cameras, some of them never having seen one before, so she decided to begin teaching them. Born Into Brothels follows the development of eight special kids as they learn photography and attempt to escape the brothels and make better lives for themselves.

It’s really amazing to see how accustomed the kids are to the lifestyle in the brothels. Many of the prostitutes enjoy screaming obscenities at the children whenever they are under feet, even when they are working. The children hardly react to the screaming fights that the women have with each other, and they simply go about with their lives. These strong kids are amazing and yet they have none of the chances that they deserve because of where they live. When Zana tries to enroll the children in a boarding school to get them out of the brothels, their admittance is denied several times simply because they come from the red light district.

Some of the kids truly do have a natural talent which is developed through Zana’s teaching, but the film has more to do with opportunity than talent. The education they receive opens their lives up and gives them hope and a chance to do something outside of the brothels. Within the film we see these opportunities arise for the kids and by the end of the film we see that some of them take the chance to escape the life, while others remain in the brothels.

The DVD has a number of special features, most of which are really good. There is a director’s commentary, but there is also special video commentary by the kids for select scenes. The most important of the special features is the segment which reconnects with the children three years after the making of the documentary. There are other small features which are great to have, such as the Academy Awards acceptance speech, interview segments, theatrical trailer, and deleted scenes. Most special edition DVDs don’t have this many special features, but the film is deserving of such good treatment.



Ryan Izay