Born Into Brothels
Two Stars
by Norman Wilner, Zap2it.com
A few years ago, the British-born photographer Zana Briski found a compelling way to connect with the children of prostitutes in the red-light district of Calcutta: She gave them cameras and encouraged them to document their world, in the hopes of teaching them to communicate through art, and giving their lives some sort of direction.
The result was the Kids with Cameras project, which led to gallery showings and an Amnesty International calendar, among other things, both of which are glancingly documented in "Born into Brothels," a film Briski made with Ross Kauffman while she was working with the children.
The film follows Briski as she coaxes the kids to find their own sense of style, and explore the possibilities of a life beyond one of the poorest and most desperate places in the world, where adult role models are virtually nonexistent and education is a pipe dream. Saving these children is a genuinely laudable mission, and that -- combined with the evocative title -- probably explains the Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
But as worthwhile as the subject may be, "Born into Brothels" feels like an afterthought, as though Kauffman's DV cameras were just there when someone thought to pack them. Briski and Kauffman are very sloppy filmmakers, and there's a lack of clarity to the movie that becomes increasingly frustrating: It spends most of its time waiting for something to happen, and the already meandering running time is padded to feature length with interludes underscored with mournful woodwind music that signifies their sensitivity to this foreign culture.
With a radical edit, and real narration instead of a couple of voiceovers from Briski at the beginning of the film, "Born into Brothels" might have the impact with which it's being credited. As it is, though, it's more of a well-intentioned infomercial.
ThinkFilm's DVD arrives with a decent complement of supplemental material - there's an audio commentary by Briski and Kauffman, their appearance on "The Charlie Rose Show," 12 minutes of deleted scenes, a photo gallery and the filmmakers' Oscar acceptance speech. There's also a nine-minute featurette, "Reconnecting," that catches up with most of the kids -- mostly, it's just long takes of Briski hugging them -- and a far more interesting split-screen segment that allows the children to watch about 35 minutes of the movie and offer their own commentary. It's a pity they weren't able to offer it for the whole feature.
