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Quotes
"Timeless in its observations"
-Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times, Critic's Pick
"Candid interviews with the subjects are impressive."
-Erin Clements, Time Out New York
"Extraordinary documentary... fair-minded portraits"
-Andrew O'Hehi, Salon.com
"Far from the altogether downbeat experience you'd expect."
-Jay Carr, AM New York
"Compelling and illuminating"
-Avi Offer, Nycmovieguru.com
"Courtesans' poignant, provocative...Brabbee's view is respectful. Despite the
girls' nearly hopeless situation, she portrays them as hopeful, strong and
surprisingly optimistic...."
-Rachel Mehendale, The Daily Texan
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full review
"15 films to watch from IDFA 2004...”
-Eugene Hernandez, indieWIRE
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full review
”The prostitutes of Mystelle Brabbée's Highway Courtesans hold the audience
enchanted with their strong characters and beautiful souls in the face of
unfortunate circumstances...”
- Mark Fagan, Austin Chronicle
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full review
"****(4 stars)…[a] thoughtful and sure-handed documentary... We follow Guddi
for several years and learn about life in "the profession" and the extraordinary
challenges she faces in leaving it… Finding ways to be ordinary in their world
must take extraordinary courage."
-Sarah Lindner, Austin American-Statesman
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full review
“Intriguing subject and revealing interviews…”
-Joe Leydon, Variety
"****(4 stars) Critics' Choice. Recommended"
-Chicago Reader
"ABSORBING, touching and sometimes enraging."
-Chicago Tribune
"***(3 stars)"
-Chicago Sun Times
"…an incisive examination of a prostitution caste in India...."
-Galway News
"... a remarkable piece of ethnographic work.”
- Michael Rabiger, author Directing the Documentary
“Brabbee's intelligent documentary…represent(s) the latest achievements in Asian
and Asian American filmmaking.”
-Asiance Magazine
"A touching story of human rights versus tradition and survival."
-Celine Michelle, Denver Post
"...this complex and emotional documentary follows Guddi Chauhan and her sisters
as they struggle into and out of 'the profession'. No crusader, director
Michelle Brabbee treats her subjects with subtlety and respect as she explores
themes of culture, tradition, and women's roles. Guddi's choices and their
consequences provide a critical context for an international discussion of the
rights of woman."
-Joe Hart ,
Utne Magazine
"...this is a searching and fluently edited portrait of innocence bought and
sold along a highway that links Calcutta to Delhi to the Himalayas, a conduit
for long-haul vehicles and long-term HIV, where a girl's power to earn money
defines her value...to the filmmaker's credit, as she peels pack the layer of
reality in Guddi's life, the theme that emerges becomes the slippery and even
contradictory nature of truth."
-Rober Keser,
Bright Lights Film Journal
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full review
"...the documentary is most affecting at its most
hands off, simply recounting Guddi's difficult, ultimately inspiring journey."
-Scott Manzler,
Nashville Scene
"Highly Recommended...Excellent…Uniquely presents the clash among the strong roots of family tradition, the social problems of prostitution, and the issues surrounding modernization of the Indian society.”
-Educational Media Reviews Online
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full review
"An intellectually satisfying film that eschews easy moralizing in favor of a close look into the hard financial, social and interpersonal consequences of breaking with tradition, this is highly recommended.”
-Video Librarian
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