Just watched Falang: Behind Thailand’s Smile (aka Bangkok Girl).  (Side note: there are way more google hits for farang (western spelling) than falang (thai spelling).  Proof of google’s racism?  (NO because that’s not how search engines work.  I don’t care.))  Anyway.  It is an interesting subject (who doesn’t want to learn about Thai sex tourism?) but made in the Canadian style.  (Boring.)

He narrates to explain all the story, rather than having the characters do it.  His boring slow Canadian voice should only be heard NEVER.

He chose to follow Pla (main girl character) because of her seeming vulnerability and innocence (and because she works in a bar but supposedly isn’t a prostitute.)  He is constantly saying how he feels protective of her, how innocent she is, he gets her a taxi home when he is afraid for her honor/values/morals at a party.  The filmmaker constantly talks about how he is suspicious that she is lying to him about not being in the sex trade (but in the way that he is a big strong western male, with utmost confidence that this delicate asian flower would never lie to him!  She is innocence and purity, even when talking about some guy getting his dick cut off.)

Remind me again why he isn’t following a prostitute?

We don’t start learning anything about Pla until 24 minutes in (except that she is 19 and works in a bar and is an innocent).

HE JUST ZOOMED IN ON HER TEARS?  (oh, at this point we know that she is missing her fingers on her right hand from her evil stepmother boiling it.)

Oh now she’s missing and turns out she went with a falang.  He had been hoping that she was different, but then, (he asks himself) where had the gold necklace and watch come from?  But she was “trying to survive in this material age”

OH NOW SHE’S DEAD. And he loves her?