Asia's Sex industry - France 24

Not much to quibble with in this short documentary from France 24. There is no real theme, it just stitches together a few interesting things about the sex industry in Thailand and Cambodia. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu_K5wvdMAY

The pronunciation of the host is a little suspect and I was certain that she claimed the sex industry amounted to 40% of the Thai economy, in the main body of the film the number is confirmed as 14%. We get to meet a local businessman who claims that Pattaya is changing, the departure of paedophiles and sex tourists putting it on a par with Monaco, he claims. Cue Princess Grace to revolve in her grave. We are also introduced to Philippe Seur, a French doctor who dedicates his time and money to helping AIDS victims. This section surely deserved more time as the honourable doctor appears to justify the title claimed for him by the film. He is, we are told, the Angel of Pattaya.

Having "established" that Pattaya has cleaned up its act, the action moves quickly to Sihanoukville in Cambodia, where we are assured that it is possible to buy everything available in Pattaya, only cheaper. There is a brief interview with a deeply dodgy looking character who assures us that the "paedophile problem" is exaggerated and some grainy footage of a hotel sting operation. At this stage it appeared as though the director realised he had enough footage to meet his contractual commitment and the curtain came down, allowing viewers plenty of time to switch their holiday booking from Thailand to Cambodia.

There are worse ways of spending 12 minutes but this is no award winner.