dapadayachee Review of Much Loved

Much Loved (2015)

The film has been produced with a fair amount of sensitivity and concern.

[7/10 · 30 June 2016]

DIFF: Much Loved This is a carefully portrayed account of the life of a group of courtesans in Marrakesh, Morocco. This sort of life-style has a long history in Arab, Indian and other traditions. The film has been produced with a fair amount of sensitivity and concern. The social ostracism that the beautiful women and their families experience is starkly portrayed. They experience rejection, embarrassment and humiliation from parents, children and their lovers. It is all done with a surprising amount of panache and humour. Even lesbianism has a look in. As always, the customers do not come off looking too good. There are no gangster pimps in this scenario except for a taxi driver who transports the women. We are all aware that there are cops who prey on women of this kind. Morocco is not exempt from this sort of challenge. As with all foreign films of lands which do not usually feature in mainstream cinema, I found the Moroccan street scenes, the social environment, body language, customs and homes authentic and very interesting to analyse. As expected, the film is banned in Morocco but I found the film worth seeing. In the same way that unproven medication and fake doctors should be banned, illegal prostitution should not be allowed. I think that properly controlled (by the authorities) prostitution should be legal. That protects both the customers and those who wish to exist in this way. In this age of HIV/AIDS, Herpes and other devastating venereal diseases making prostitution illegal is illogical and irrational in my opinion.