Paula is 24 years old and has talent as an actress. She is following her dream in a difficult country. In spite of the fact that she's been on her own for two and maybe six years, she seems oblivious to the reality around her. She has a job which she loses early on because she's chronically late and additionally is three months behind on her rent and faces eviction the next day.
A wiser choice for Paula would have been to realize that she could not support herself and seek roommates to share expenses when she first started out on her career. So now she has to get 300 pesos in a day or become homeless so she eventually turns to a friend who is already a sex worker. They quickly are picked up by two boys their own ages who agree to pay them 50 pesos apiece. Her friend goes down on her client but Paula bolts and says she wants to be on her own. Her friend inexplicably gives her the 100 pesos.
On the street she is picked up by a middle aged man. Paula has no problem blowing him (unlike the first boy) but has failed to make the bargain and get the money up front. So he ends up stiffing her.
Then she hits pay dirt when Raoul, a nice looking middle aged recently separated man staying at an upscale hotel, picks her up. She is paid 200 pesos and Raoul is clearly wanting to become an established client. Paula blows him off, goes sees her boyfriend and they end up getting robbed in a night club.
She comes back to Raoul and agrees to spend the night for the money she needs for rent. However, after they have sex which she seems to enjoy, she breaks her promise and tries to leave early. Raoul then catches her and takes the money back.
Paula then goes to a club, picks up a sketchy older man and checks into a seedy hotel. He pays her 200 pesos and she blows him. When she tries to leave, he says they're not done and then beats her and rapes her. The movie then ends with Paula looking out over the city and presumably contemplating her future.
The writer/director in his notes says that Paula is a woman who won't compromise her deeply held moral beliefs. What those are is not clear. Without even discussing the morality of being a sex worker, Paula uses people when it suits her, borrowing from her Uncle and never intending to pay it back, lying to Raoul about spending the night, taking extreme measures to avoid her landlord who she owes nearly a thousand pesos.
Those actions may show someone who is street smart but they also show someone who has a fluid morality.
I realize this review is more about the character's story than it is about the quality of the film making. However, it's obvious that that is the main point of the film.
A wiser choice for Paula would have been to realize that she could not support herself and seek roommates to share expenses when she first started out on her career. So now she has to get 300 pesos in a day or become homeless so she eventually turns to a friend who is already a sex worker. They quickly are picked up by two boys their own ages who agree to pay them 50 pesos apiece. Her friend goes down on her client but Paula bolts and says she wants to be on her own. Her friend inexplicably gives her the 100 pesos.
On the street she is picked up by a middle aged man. Paula has no problem blowing him (unlike the first boy) but has failed to make the bargain and get the money up front. So he ends up stiffing her.
Then she hits pay dirt when Raoul, a nice looking middle aged recently separated man staying at an upscale hotel, picks her up. She is paid 200 pesos and Raoul is clearly wanting to become an established client. Paula blows him off, goes sees her boyfriend and they end up getting robbed in a night club.
She comes back to Raoul and agrees to spend the night for the money she needs for rent. However, after they have sex which she seems to enjoy, she breaks her promise and tries to leave early. Raoul then catches her and takes the money back.
Paula then goes to a club, picks up a sketchy older man and checks into a seedy hotel. He pays her 200 pesos and she blows him. When she tries to leave, he says they're not done and then beats her and rapes her. The movie then ends with Paula looking out over the city and presumably contemplating her future.
The writer/director in his notes says that Paula is a woman who won't compromise her deeply held moral beliefs. What those are is not clear. Without even discussing the morality of being a sex worker, Paula uses people when it suits her, borrowing from her Uncle and never intending to pay it back, lying to Raoul about spending the night, taking extreme measures to avoid her landlord who she owes nearly a thousand pesos.
Those actions may show someone who is street smart but they also show someone who has a fluid morality.
I realize this review is more about the character's story than it is about the quality of the film making. However, it's obvious that that is the main point of the film.