A brilliant film that helped define a genre

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

So glad to see a film exposing the reality of child trafficking. Much more relaxing and comfortable(?) to go and watch the Desolation of Smaug but this is about the desolation of children and you need to see it. Thought Mira Sorvino did a great job as the mother trying to cope with the overwhelming horror of seeing children being destroyed by greed, both sexual and monetary, this was well portrayed. However I had a problem with the role that Dermot Mulroney played (not his acting - he's good) in that he came across as the arrogant American. I really wish the scriptwriter had gone for a different approach here as the movie has been given world-wide release and people are rather over the "I know better than you do, I'm American" type of persona. I would have gone and worked with someone else if I'd been the Aussie! I just wish that someone now would do a film about closing down the market from a different angle. This was about stopping the "product" being available but what about a film wiping out the revolting "purchasers"? No buyers, no market. Great acting by Trieu Tran, John Billingsley and the children.

I find this film seems itself to be abusive to children; I was sickened and shocked. There are also two other alarming questions to ask about this film's making. I'm a grandparent with 7 children and several grandchildren; after being into this film a little more than 30-40 minutes or so I could no longer finish watching it as some of you out there who are parents are likely to soon understand why. BUT BUT, I did watch ALL the special features.Why hasn't anyone mentioned that there were actual REAL small too young children acting as subjects of child sexual abuse who were actually talking to actors who were acting like real child sex abusers. In other words Simulated Child Abuse (even if only mildly) much like simulated sex in soft porn movies. Those younger child actors were WAY WAY too young to be even learning AT-ALL anything about such subjects as child sexual abuse/prostitution! They need to have STAYED as innocents about anymore than the minimum knowledge about sexuality any other normal average younger child that age knows. So - - for me - - this WAS a milder form but still child abuse to have used/hijacked these children this way; and there was no thorough explanations or clarifications in the special features to relax viewers that they blue-screened the children separate from the male abuser actor etc or some other shielding or at least ANY further explanation than what was insufficiently offered to assure viewer that these children were sufficiently protected. The film's Special Feature's ONLY explanation was that the mothers were on the set at all times; hey guess what; what about those "other" mothers who really did send a child into prostitution they were fully aware also. How many of you parents out there would allow your child to be an actor in such scenes who, it's totally normal, will then want to go and see the movie they "starred" in? Sick Sick and TOO sick!! Is it too politically incorrect to accuse this to be some kind of cultural defect, like many accuse Muslims for how they treat women; what other world culture does this kind of thing to this level of severity; do Muslims allow this kind of thing for their little innocent children? "We bought the script immediately;" the doctor states, whose idea started the project. Bought? Say what? Again - - for me - - the appearances imply they simply hijacked this issue simply in order to make hero-celebrities of themselves and be able to travel around and make speeches. Reminds me of Jerry Lewis's abuse of Muscular Dystrophy children.If it was filmed in Thailand which is historically, going back hundreds of years, WAY more famous for child prostitution; then Cambodia, then why wasn't the Thai governments historically weak efforts to combat this problem mentioned; or that this country allows actual jet sex-charters to land on their runways as if they were like those gamblers-only charters going to Las Vegas.If this film was truly to expose then why didn't it really expose the so so much more there IS to expose? Again, the appearances seem to imply these people just hijacked one of the saddest sickest most hidden issues on earth just to make hero celebrities of themselves since the film too over emphasized Cambodia while too under-emphasizing all the other well-knowings by those of us who have for decades really fought this holocaust against children. Were they way more concerned about getting their film made then offending those who really need to be way more than just offended; IE in prison.Please boycott, as in don't buy any goods made in Thailand; period!!!

At the film website, three awards were won at the Breckenridge Festival of Film, Best of the Fest Drama, Best Director, 2nd Place People's Choice and two other awards. This shows that this film is recognized as exposing an ugly truth that some would rather not hear about.I did not like the facts presented but enjoyed this film because it dramatically portrayed the problem of porn prostitution of young girls in certain countries like Cambodia. It makes us all aware of the problem that most do not know.The film presents the point of view of the parents of these horrendously treated young girls and the tragic exploitation of them for sex. I was not aware of this before. I also discovered that yes, it occurs right here in Canada and I am sure other places in North America.This movie points out that situation and makes those who care, aware. There are always some who do not care about anyone but themselves.The film keeps you occupied and drawn compassionately into the lives of the characters as if you were there as a reluctant observer wanting to help but trapped by being on the wrong side of the screen.There is something you can do.

I won't slam this film for being a poorly disguised Christian-value morality pusher. I won't knock it for it's 3rd-grade script and monotone actors. I'm not even going to examine the scores of plot-holes and racist inaccuracies present in an obviously NGO-funded and bible- thumper backed waste of space in my BitTorrent stream.Instead I'd like to point out that this film, supposedly made about Cambodia and "based on real events" has:a) Not a single Cambodian actor in the entire filmb) Not a single line of dialog that sounds Khmerc) Not a single actual shot of Cambodia, Siem Reap, or Angkor Watd) Not a single shred of present-day realityThis movie will only shock & surprise those whom are easily fooled. The flimsy story-line and cheesy dialog, "I trained my whole life for this!", are enough to make milk curdle. Yeah, we know child trafficking sucks, we know people are working to stop it, but we're not dull enough to believe that it's as black & white as it's poorly portrayed here.The thing that really gets me is that I saw the three actors, the only white guys in the movie, out together in Soi Cowboy during the making of the film. Really? You're gonna make a movie about how terrible the sex trade is and then go get a 16-year-old lap dance and boom boom when you've punched off the clock?Scratch what I said above. There was one thing right about this movie, the pedophile go away in the end. That's what happens in 99.999% of the cases, they go back home from their holiday without hassle (incidentally, 19 out of 20 sex trade customers come from the same continent).I wish filmmakers could stop themselves from making films about a country that they know nothing about and can't even bring themselves to hire someone from that country to help make the movie. It's insulting, demeaning, and racist. But hey, what do I know, Thais, Cambodians, Vietnamese -- heck, even Chinese -- they all look the same and a stupid Western audience won't be able to see or hear the difference, right?