This Swedish-made film about the world's largest Brothel in Cologne, Germany received its an American premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. While the subject of selling sex is inherently interesting and provocative, the film never really finds its footing. Director Svante Tidholm's attempt to assert himself and his own critical view of prostitution into the film seems a bit ham-handed and moralizing. The interviews often seem to not go very deep in this relatively short film. This problem is in part, because most of them are conducted in English – perhaps to appeal to an American audience - which is not the first language of many of the interviewees and seems to limit their ability to express themselves articulately. One of the prostitutes seems to offer the bizarre and unsubstantiated view that prostitution will reduce the incidence of rape. The interviews with the managers and patrons are often self-serving rather than truly informative. The film does allow us to journey inside and examine the culture of legal prostitution and asks us to consider its morality. The film seems to require a more complicated examination of the economics as well as the social and cultural impact of legal prostitution.
Perhaps some outside commentary by scholars, police, social workers, and/or former prostitutes would have created a more complex and well-rounded picture. This film provides some valuable insights, but it seems to need more editing, focus, and context before it is ready for wide scale release.