Review of Paradise: Love (2012) by Simon P — 19 Oct 2013

A beautifully shot, but squirmingly uncomfortable film.

It's impossible to warm to any of the characters; the European women with their blunt, thoughtless racism and their naive, desperate, pathetic lust for the Kenyan men are simply hideous. I despised the two main characters: One so naive and pathetic and the other who treated the men like dumb, simple toys to be laughed at and abused.

The men aren't that likeable either, as they fulfil the stereotype of the beach hustlers who harass tourists, and use tales of sick families and endless poverty to extort money after performing the perfunctory (and apparently rather lacklustre) sexual act to placate the female tourists.

But each fulfil a role which makes the deal. Would there be demand without supply and vice versa?

This movie isn't just about sex tourism and it's inevitable exposure of racism (in a way, the Kenyan men are just as racist as the white women, as they think the tourists are an endless ATM). It's also about the Western/ European desexualisation of older women. Yes, they are fat, saggy, old, irritating and small-minded, but you see the damage done by the ageist attitudes of the Western world towards older women. These sad, lonely women are products of broken marriages and men who vocalise their lack of desire for their post-menopausal bodies. Their desperate search for love, affection and romance is pitiful. I had sympathy for them, as I had sympathy for the men who were used as sec objects.

Female sex tourism is still an u comfortable subject, and I doubt this film would be as cringeworthy if it were about men seeking "exotic" women and paying for their affection. In fact, that plot line is of no interest as a movie, as it's so commonplace. I was left asking, why are these women marginalised by their own society, and why do they even begin to entertain the authenticity of the hustlers' declarations of love?

Did I enjoy this movie? Yes, because I like films that make me question the issues they raise, and because I'm partial to films that cover uncomfortable subject areas. If you liked 'Vers Le Sud', you'll like this.