Paradise: Love was one of the most unremittingly depressing and soulless movies I've ever seen. While it might have worked as a documentary, it didn't work at all as fiction. I knew the movie was in trouble when in the opening scene, the camera seemed to gawk and leer at a group of Down Syndrome individuals riding bumper cars. This set the tone for the movie; it seemed to operate from the premise the simply portraying misery and dehumanization is in itself art. Not so. There were hardly any real human interactions in the movie, and as a result nothing redemptive about it.Even the sex itself was presented oddly; we saw numerous awkward and unfulfilled moments, but we never saw Teresa enjoy her encounters for even a second. After all, something kept her going back. The movie was so heavy-handed, so focused on exploitation, it couldn't allow even a second of joy to break through.I thought that at the end, the director might offer some uplift by showing Teresa back in Austrian with a new appreciation for her humdrum job and her slacker daughter, but that was way too much to ask. At the movie's end we see her walking on the beach, lonely and morose.A good movie may leave you feeling melancholy, but it always leaves you feeling more human and enriched. This movie was the antithesis of that. As much as I didn't like this movie, I'm sure the Kenyan board of tourism liked it even less!

To begin with, this movie would certainly be rated NC-17, and it is impossible for it to get a wide commercial release with the subject matter and nudity. The acting and scenery is terrific, and has an almost documentary-like feel to it. The realism of the characters makes some parts even more cringe-worthy and difficult to watch. The movie also tackled a lot of different aspects in western society, such as the pressures placed on women about physical appearances. The main actress in the movie is really convincing in her role and really puts herself out there for the viewers. Its interesting how she starts off trying to be like her friends, but then seeks out love in her naivete. Even during the birthday party and with the bartender, she shows how she is not like her other boy-toy seeking friends.

This film is certainly not for the faint of heart. A woman (a nurse). who is obsessive compulsive about cleanliness and who micromanages her daughter, escapes to Kenya for a vacation. She 'loves' her daughter and she wants 'love' from these male prostitutes. The whole concept is extremely sad. Maybe it is true that this is the human condition for some women but I just found it too offensive to watch. It made me sick to my stomach to see the racism and objectification going on. I disagree with other reviewers' descriptions of the sexual frankness and naturalness. The whole film is fraught with awkwardness and vulgarity. None of these characters is really there for love. It is a docu-drama on sexual exploitation and racism. And it reveals painfully the incredible imbalance of power that exists on this planet as well as the extreme lack of sexual maturity and ability to create intimacy in our lives. Eros permeates everything and is what can lead us to experience true intimacy and ecstasy. But when all is seen as an object for one's own pleasure, for an escape from pain, there is no eros, no love. Of course, the filmmaker isn't trying to show us true love. Obviously, this is about the whole problem of the emptiness in these women's lives. And perhaps it shows men who are into sex tourism just what they're doing better than if it were a male centric sex tourist film. But I find it so flat and I agree with one of the reviewers that that is because the director never takes a moment to allow even a bit of connection, true humanity to shine through. It's hard to find this scenario plausible because I can't believe that the only thing these woman want to do is get laid. But then again, I might be naive. Maybe that is all they want after all.

An Austrian woman on holiday in Kenya, is convinced by a fellow country woman to seduce a local boys for the fun of it as they are tasty as an exotic fruit. The hesitant woman eventually gives in and she has a taste of young love. Unaware or perhaps out of naivety that for the local boys, older European women are a good way to supplement their income she spends a bit of time under the illusion that she is loved by an attractive young man. When reality hits, it hurts and this frustrated woman turns her quest from looking for a bit of fun to an odyssey of self-confirmation.Simple, effective and nicely made this is a beautifully visual thesis on holiday romance.