If the purpose of this documentary was to evoke an emotional response and foster dialogue, it succeeded on both counts. I left a comment to articulate my visceral response to this film, and a few people found it offensive. But what should I say? As a human being, much less a documentarian who has to been to Thailand, I was offended by this film. I don't think "Bangkok Girl" ever really got to tell her story. All I heard was the filmmaker. So I'm going to repost my comment, and preface it with a disclaimer: for any who came surfing here with the intent of posting their tearful heartfelt applause, you might find the following comment to be unpleasantly sardonic.<br /><br />"I'm a good citizen! That's why I'm going to a bowling alley in Virginia, US. I'll interview the first girl willing to talk to me. Maybe she's been beaten by her husband but remains in her marriage. I'll ask her lots of personal questions: why did she get an abortion when she was 15? Why doesn't she leave her job as an underpaid waitress, quit drinking and go back to school? Then I'll lay in a voice over, wondering if there's really any hope for her, or any remedy for the tragedy of her situation. I'll call it: Richmond Girl. Because everyone has a story. As for the men in the bowling alley, they don't really have a story so I won't ask them personal questions - but together, we can feel better than them. I'll wave goodbye to the first girl in Richmond who talked to me, and feel good - knowing that I could have slept with her if that's what I wanted. Because that's what caring is.<br /><br />If you're amazed or ashamed that hypocrisy like this still has an audience, try to understand that it's basically a rite-of-passage for lazy film students everywhere. College students love to "investigate" prostitution, but they don't do it at home because they'd have to see and hear from their subjects again and that's too much commitment. So students: ask around the quad and you'll hear about some places you can shoot (coincidentally, your own country's GNP will be higher - go team!). "I hear Paraguay is like, really bad. Like you can buy any girl you want and stuff." You'll come back from vacation feeling better about yourself, as if you've tackled some kind of social problem. And better still, you'll get an "A"!<br /><br />I challenge you to learn *ONE SINGLE THING* about Thailand from this indulgent film. This comes from a long embarrassing tradition of backward, self-serving, patronizing colonialist-explorer films. Kidlat Tahimik please... let me hold you and cry."