Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids
HBO/Cinemax Documentary | Release Date: December 8, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
This is the kind of film that reminds you of what movies, at their best, are capable of. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Compelling. Read full review
100
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
A superb and piercing documentary. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The title captures this film's harrowing qualities, but not its energy, its limpid beauty or its spiritual grace. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Creates such memorable images out of squalid surroundings that I sometimes wondered whether I was being distracted from the devastating stories of these kids by the beautiful cinematography. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A devastating portrait of impoverished Calucutta children. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie is a record by well-meaning people who try to make a difference for the better, and succeed to a small degree while all around them the horror continues unaffected. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
It shows how the energy, and innocence, of children can be found - and fostered - in even the bleakest spots on earth. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
But as cynical as I may have been going in, I came out a believer. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The results are inspiring, demonstrating that an artistic eye is an innate thing. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
This is a work of art so deep and resonant that it puts most narrative films to shame. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The resulting film is moving, charming and sad, a tribute to Ms. Briski's indomitability and to the irrepressible creative spirits of the children themselves. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Born Into Brothels will break your heart, then warm it up and leave you with that 7-Up longing to know what happens next to Zana's kids. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Seven years in the making, it demands to be experienced not just because of the good it does but because of how unexpectedly good, even buoyant, it makes you feel. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Why, then, should we be eager to see a story of such incomplete inspiration? Because it's thrilling, and stirring. And because it is truth.
80
TimeRichard Schickel
Very moving film. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Doesn't just bring you to the edge of the hopeless zone, it takes you right into its homes where the children play. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Briski, a New York photographer, spent several years with the pre-teens. But she did more than just film them -- she tried to help them. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
A stirring documentary, and would be more so if it focused more on social problems than on Briski's own work. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
As inspiring as the story wants to be, its real drama is mired around the edges, where we get a sense of what it is really like to be born into a brothel. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
This film carries us so touchingly into their world, it would take a heart of stone, finally, to ignore them. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Rather than another oppressive film about poverty, it's a revealing experiment in perspective. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Often, the movie leaves you wishing Briski had found a way to document more of her subjects' day-to-day lives. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderRichard M. Porton
The children are not exactly reporters -- they bring back no shattering images of sexual servitude -- but their photography, like much children's art, is fresh and sometimes startling. Read full review
70
Film ThreatBrad Slager
The brightest facet of the movie is that even as they face oppressive conditions they still persist with joy. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Favors unforgettable images over in-depth storytelling, and prioritizing electrifying moments over narrative arcs. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Even if the film itself is relatively conventional, its exposure of a squalid city's most benighted neighborhood and its introduction of hope into nearly hopeless lives give it strong human interest value. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Almost inevitably for a documentary of this stripe, it risks aestheticizing poverty--but here it's usually the kids themselves who compose the most arresting images. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
In a rare and inspiring example of the way art can both reflect and alleviate human suffering, photojournalist Zana Briski's wrenching documentary traces her valiant use of photography to help children trapped in one of the most wretched places on earth. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Touching and saddening. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'Hara
Some gorgeous imagery – mostly in pictures taken by the kids – and heartbreaking stories, but the directors' appearances sometimes feel self-indulgent. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Designed to be "inspirational," yet it shortchanges the complex reality of the lives it makes such a show of saving. Read full review
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