Much Loved (2015)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Brilliant and touching

A Major Disappointment

Blistering performances.

When I was much younger and poorer, I used to have a job like the one of the mostly silent gay chauffeur in this film: I drove a group of prostitutes from my Romanian homeland around and checked whether they were safe. Not so rare an occupation for gays, it seems. While watching this, I felt taken back directly to those days in the early 90s, and I still can't believe just how much this film got prostitution right. Every character corresponds to women I've met who did this job, with same goals, same social situation, same characteristics.The clients are in every detail like the clients I saw; Ayouch doesn't flinch to portray French men as wannabe machos who get deservedly ripped off, and Saudis as rich scum who cannot have sex without degrading the women they're paying, albeit handsomely. That's what may have gotten the film banned in Morocco, but what certainly did it is the scene in which the ladies get a little boy vendor to admit he's "going with the Europeans". The ban is almost ironic because this film is so much more than a portrait of contemporary Moroccan or Arab society; this really can and does happen anywhere.No film I've ever seen has corresponded so much to the reality of prostitution as I witnessed it, they're usually focusing on family issues to make the issue more palpable. This one doesn't, and Ayouch deserves more viewers and more respect for that.

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.

-Much Loved is a 2015 French-Moroccan drama film directed by Nabil Ayouch about the prostitution scene in Marrakesh. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film has been banned in Morocco for its "contempt for moral values and the Moroccan woman". It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.-It is one of the first film to address the issue of prostitution in Morocco. Telling the lives of four female sex workers, it brings to the forefront the exploitation of prostitutes by pimps and the corruption of the police, that sometimes even profits from the trade. The film stirred a national debate before it was released when a few video clips was leaked on the web. Thereafter, the lead actress received death threats and religious authorities condemned the film for portraying a negative image of Morocco, with its supporting of extramarital sex and sympathy for the homosexuals.

This movie shows in a very realistic form what is behind prostitution: the life and feelings of prostitute themselves. Some scenes are very crude, but there is no vulgarity or pornography in this movie; the reality which is presented is vulgar, the film is not. The intelligent aspect of this movie is that it doesn't impose any moral judgment: it only shows facts, people, the ones who pay for prostitution, the ones who take advantage of it (sometimes condemning it at the same time), the ones who accept it... Even if the reality of the four women and the man making their living by selling their body is often sad, the movie is not tearful; it is full of life, energy and some lines are even very funny. The three main actresses play with great talents these subtle and difficult roles.