Review by Cameron Maitland

Often when the subject of a documentary is shocking or new, it can take over for many of the artistic elements other documentaries rely on. Rithy Panh, in turning his camera on the prostitutes of Cambodia, finds a riveting subject for his film Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers, but at the sacrifice of style.

The film follows a young prostitute A’Da and her attempts to support her family as well as her interactions with other girls and the general pursuit of prostitution in Cambodia. Panh ends up revealing a society still reeling from the effects of the Khmer Rouge and the botched aid job done by the UN. A’Da works to support her daughter and mother as well as the various financial demands of a capitalist society all while facing drug addiction, AIDS and unimaginably poor conditions.

No one can deny the documentary is shocking in its portrayal of the crumbling lower class in Cambodian society and A’Da’s story heart wrenching in its desperation. Still, there is a certain arc lacking in the film that made it feel a bit flat. It definitely is opening my eyes to a problem and a way of life far worse than expected yet the story just seems repetitive in its constant badgering of the point of how bad these women’s lives are. Any contradictory moments are fleeting and the most development in their stories seems to come from the titles that end the film, saying where the girls are today.

Paper Cannot Wrap up Embers is definitely a film that should be seen to open eyes to the conditions in Cambodia and the struggles of prostitutes yet, it still feels like a film that could have been more compelling if told with a bit more artistry.

Paper Cannot Wrap Embers
Rithy Panh | Cambodia/France | 2006 | 90min