Girl Model (2011) User Reviews

Disturbing documentary surrounding a little known side of the modelling world

[juneebuggy · 7/10 · 27 April 2015]

Fairly disturbing documentary about young (way young) models scouted from their homes in Siberia and sent to Japan to model. -Apparently the Japanese market likes young girls.

Our main subject here is 13, plucked from the Siberian countryside and dropped into the centre of Tokyo. The girls are basically owned by their agency, waiting around in tiny, crappy apartments to go on shoots, completely shut off due to the language barrier and a lack of cash. Ultimately they can be sent home if they gain any weight or "inches" as outlined in their contract. This creates a problem for some girls as they haven't gone through puberty yet.

This documentary was very sad because initially the girls and their families think they've won the lottery but in reality I saw it as just another form of human trafficking.

The scout who finds these girls is a former model and apparently hates the business but that doesn't stop her from finding and exploiting the girls and living in a fancy house in America. 03.13

Disturbing documentary, but leaves a lot of questions unanswered

[mlbrown87 · 7/10 · 1 May 2012]

[...]The film is obviously dark and upsetting, but it left me with so many unanswered questions. Perhaps in our age of America's Next Top Model, the directors expected a certain base understanding of the modeling industry, but I could have used some more guidance. I would have appreciated a narrator or on-screen captions saying things like "This is a recruiter. It is the recruiter's job to…" or "Nadya is now auditioning for…" Maybe I just have a way below average understanding of modeling, but the whole time I kept asking myself very basic questions that could have been easily explained, and would have made for a much more educational film.

Additionally, the filmmakers failed to elaborate on certain themes that were mentioned in passing, often by Ashley (who was an utter enigma as a character, hovering between denial and insanity). Themes like prostitution and sex trafficking, and illegal underage models. These are issues that could use some unpacking. Ashley would say something like, "We all know that some girls turn to prostitution (though she never even says the word), but I don't have any first-hand evidence of that," and then she would move onto another topic. I think in cases like this, it is the filmmakers role to step in; if not to press Ashley further in the interview than at least to provide the audience with a statistic or something. However, the directors seemed determined to keep the narrative confined to the claustrophobic world of the characters that they were following, leaving the audience to scratch their heads and speculate. Additionally, with no additional information, the viewer is left with no idea about the scope of the problem. Are situations like this the exception or the rule? Are they limited to Japan, or to this one particular agency, or should we now assume that any photograph we see in a fashion magazine has a crying Russian child behind it? What can we do to prevent situations like this? We simply are never given any of the answers.

Girl Model was an engaging and disturbing documentary, though it left me wanting to know more. It showed us the characters and told us their story, but left out a lot of the context necessary to create a holistic understanding. I'll probably end up trying to do some more research about the topic to answer some of the questions that I had, but it would have been nice it the directors had done that work for me.

Read the full review here: http://mattreviewsstuff.com/2012/04/25/girl-model/

Skinny Legs, And All

[strong-122-478885 · 5/10 · 22 August 2016]

If you don't believe that "certain" modelling agencies are, in fact, recruiting naive, young girls (as young as 12) for the sole purpose of prostitution, then watch "Girl Model" and you just may change your viewpoint on that matter.

My 2 biggest beefs regarding this 2011 documentary is that I felt its editing was way too uneven and (most importantly) that it just didn't dig deep enough into its investigation of modelling agencies (that are located as far away as Siberia) whose calculating "scouts" are recruiting 13-year-old girls (who are, sadly enough, being treated like disposable goods).

But, with that said - "Girl Model" certainly did paint a very negative picture of the modelling business. This, of course, is a business that continues to thrive today even though it, unfortunately, lacks basic labour protection for the girls that are hired.

All-in-all - I thought that "Girl Model" was well-worth a view.

Quietly disturbing

[trulyarcadia · 25 April 2013]

This is one disturbing documentary. I feel as shocked and repulsed as I would had I just watched a documentary on child pornography, which frankly, isn't too far removed from what I have just seen. I don't write many reviews but sadness and anger have prompted me to start typing.

Unlike other reviewers who feel the directors skimmed the surface and left too much out, I disagree: by remaining quiet and distant (although thankfully they apparently did step in when the child models were in obvious need of help, which was not being provided by anyone else) they perfectly capture the solitary confusion, neglect, and loneliness that the girls face. The lack of action, human interaction (other than with unfriendly agency/magazine people), and the tedium of the documentary all perfectly mirror the experience the girls themselves go through. If we (adult viewers) aren't completely clear as to who certain people are, or what exactly is going on, then we can safely assume that a 13 year old girl from Siberia, who speaks neither English nor Japanese, and has no parents to help, would not know either - and that's the point. These young, hopeful, innocent girls are plucked from their surroundings and dropped into the ruthless, heartless, abusive world of modeling with no support system in place, where (shockingly, to me) women as much as men treat them as insentient "things", products that they can push, prod and pick apart. To make it all the more morally repugnant, having endured being repeatedly reviewed/rejected/reviewed/rejected/reviewed/rejected, they are sent home, not with thousands of dollars in their bank accounts, but IN DEBT to the agencies that "represent" (pimp) them.

So who's to blame for all of this - does the fault lie with the parents for sending their children off, unescorted, into the blue? I don't think so- they have been promised a dream, a future, financial rewards, which in reality are unlikely to materialize, but should they be blamed for hoping for the best? Ashley (see below), in one of her scouting pitches, claims no model fails in Japan and they won't return in debt as they would if they are sent anywhere else, which is clearly - and she knows it! - a lie. The parents are oblivious to the truth of the situation into which their daughters are being sent, and I'd like to think the moms and dads give themselves enough of a hard time for falling for the lies, and believing in the dream that didn't (and rarely does) come true once it all does become clear upon their daughters' return.

The perpetrators of what, in my opinion, amounts to borderline child abuse are Ashley Arbaugh, the scout responsible for finding the pre-pubescent girls and Noah and "Messiah", the agency owners she passes them on to.

Ashley has obviously been psychologically damaged by her own time in the modeling industry (and possible dabble into other sideline activities - prostitution, perhaps? - which she alludes to by mentioning she had been a "bad girl"), a fact that is borne out physically in the form of a large cyst and fibroid she has to have surgically removed. She is clearly not healthy in the body, nor the head. She has a horrible lack of depth, acknowledging but then brushing aside the seedy side of the industry she feeds, even going so far as to refer to prostitution as "normal". Her morals have clearly collapsed in the face of an obvious selfish drive to make money. I found her perversely fascinating. Does she have any friends? Who would want to hang out with her? She mentions wanting a baby - but would anyone actually date her?... And cold-hearted it may sound but I truly hope she never actually has one, god forbid a daughter.

As for the men who run the agencies, I have two words: "pedophile pimps".

"Ugh" is how I feel having watched this documentary. What a sordid world and how callous human beings can be. Very sad.

This documentary is about child trafficking

[Emyalou · 6/10 · 27 January 2022]

I have only just seen this doc. I looked up Ashley Arbaugh to see if she is still trafficking young girls but could not find any recent information. She sickens me. I looked Nadya Vall up and she seems to be doing OK but you can never truly tell by instagram. I hope all of the other young ones are OK and I hope that there are more ethical people involved now. The flippant way prostitution is discussed and blamed on minors is appalling.

a bit sad

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 30 October 2016]

Ashley Arbaugh is a model scout recruiting new blood in Siberia for the Japan market. She finds 13 year old Nadya Vall blonde country girl. Tigran Khachatrian is the owner of Noah Models and represents Nadya. Her mother is overjoyed that Nadya is the rising star. The family needs her to make money and she needs to earn to stay in Japan. It's culture shock, language barrier, and homesickness at first. She is paired with Madlen who is more cynical.

The cattle call is eye-opening for its bluntness. It becomes obvious that the girls are not much more than product with a short expiration date. Ex-model Ashley holds some honest insights. However as grim and sad it all seems, this doc feels like it's holding back it punches. It digs into the first level but does not dig any deeper. This shows plenty of ugly underbelly but it only leaves me expecting more.

Priceless and petrifying at the same time.

[hello-310-626610 · 8/10 · 9 March 2012]

Former model and now jaded scout (read: human trafficker), Ashley Arbaugh, reveals the ugly truth that there is no glamour in modeling.

With incredibly questionable morals on display from just about everyone, from the 13 year old Siberian child's mother pushing her daughter into modelling (read: slavery), through to the curious agency owner who knows that there is no money to be made on these girls who stay in Japan for three weeks only to return home with $2k worth of debt for the family (along with a nice mentally scarred teenager).

Ashley, the soulless globetrotting star of this film, is self-indulgent beyond belief in her self- pity, which, if you try really hard to push past her shocking, confronting can-I-slap-her exterior, you might just see a a raw and damaged woman. A template that you can easily imagine these 13 year old girls are now going to grow into themselves.

Yet another awesome example of documentary kicking fiction's butt in the creation of monstrous characters, and nothing says this better than the agent (read: child catcher) that enthusiastically talks about bringing happiness and wealth to all of the girls and their families, and how this mantra of helping others must exist because he had been a bad man in a previous life. Classic.

Watch out for one of cinema's most uncomfortable scenes when Ashley drops in to say hello to the two models in their rather compact apartment (or shall we say 'cell').

Ah, Yes - The Alluring World Of Modelling

[StrictlyConfidential · 5/10 · 21 September 2020]

(IMO) "Girl Model" was the sort of "warts-and-all" documentary that definitely had both its fair share of good moments, as well as its not-so-good moments, too.

One of "Girl Model's" biggest drawbacks was that its producers didn't delve deep enough into what was the real motive for these so-called "talent agencies" to be recruiting young, naive girls into the intriguing world of fashion modelling.

'Cause it all looked pretty deceptive to me. And, with that - I wanted to know more about what goes on behind the scenes in this sort of dubious business of modelling.

The cold, bloodless world of modelling close up.

[sharkies69 · 8/10 · 12 August 2012]

Hard to try and beat the earlier review of this by Backseat Director.

Just saw this at MIFF today and found it very absorbing. Whilst it is very sad watching the young women (girls) being exploited the saddest character by far is "scout" Ashley.

From her inability to leave an industry she clearly loathes, to her massive but ultimately empty mansion (complete with two plastic babies) to her revolting cyst. The scene when she "checks up" on the two young Russian models is a real highlight. Cannot believe how ignorant and cold Ashley is in this sequence. Her inability to communicate is astounding (Hey Ash, did it ever occur to you that the girl's are Russian and didn't have English skills?) and I cannot believe she couldn't fork out some of her fat payroll to hire an interpreter.

A must see documentary.

The ugly, non-glamorous, exploitative side of youth modeling, unfortunately rather poorly edited

[eurograd · 5/10 · 23 April 2014]

For a while I've had this impression with me that youth modeling, especially the cast of (almost always) girls who are barely out of childhood (mentally and physically), invokes close resemblance to pedophilia. This documentary confirms that impression, following a young teenager girl (Nadya Vall) from a rural village in Russia to a trial at the very bottom feeder market of Japan commercial modeling.

It is the antithesis of Top Model or other glamorous portrayal of girls striving to conquer it all. Much on the contrary, Girl Model displays, in a crude form, how young girls are de-humanized, reduced literally to pieces of meat with a very short expiration date, and shuffled across continents and housed (or should I say warehoused) in tight confines while being, all the way, to navigate the unknowns of a country whose language they don't speak, a business they clearly have no idea how it works (which leave them vulnerable), while clearly bearing the insurmountable expectations that their whole families put on them as an escape from a poor life. It is an amount of pressure no 13-year old teenager should ever have to deal it so young in life.

The documentary is interesting, as well, in the sense it shows the overall insensitive nature of all people working with these young teens. They rationalize their work in different ways, and they probably worked with hundreds of girls before, so they become just oblivious to the obvious distress, anxiety and fear they have.

Ashley Arbaugh, a former model-turned-scout, co-star the documentary. She has been clearly affected by her years on the fashion industry, and is very conflicted about it - on one's hand grateful it helped achieve some financial security, independence and stability; on the other hand very ambivalent to the shallowness of the fashion world and the utter commoditization of models as they are reduced to their bodies and how they fit the aesthetics tastes of the moment. She can relate to the difficult moments of her own career as she signs two young Russian girls for a trail on the industry in Japan.

All of that notwithstanding, there are some major flaws with the documentary. Editing is bad, really bad. Even as the stories are compelling, they were merged into a documentary in a way that gives the impression of an unfinished job. I know this is a low-budget production, but this is not about money, but a rough editing job that compromises the viewer experience greatly. P.O.V. shooting might work great, but it does require good editing afterward.

They also tried to use the progression of an Ashley's medical issue as a hang to build her own insertion in the documentary, but it clearly didn't work, at least in the form presented.

Finally, I think it was a huge mistake not to let some of the people who are featured in the documentary to speak freely a bit, even if in the form of 'confessionals'. It would have greatly expanded the viewer's insight on the brutal work of C-level youth modeling.

Frank look at the seedy and dishonest business of child models in a grownup world.

[TxMike · 29 December 2015]

I found this documentary on Netflix streaming. It obviously was filmed almost 5 years ago but it is hard to find out what happened subsequent.

It was conceived by Ashley Arbaugh, herself a former model from a young age, I believe 18. She says she has been in and around the business for 15 years, so she was in her early 30s when this film was made. She has gone from modeling to being a scout, seemingly specializing in girls from remote regions of Russia. Arbaugh hates the business but she has to make a living and she knows this business.

The deception starts when she is making presentations to young girls, typically 11 to 15, and their parents. These are honest, hard- working but poor families, they want opportunities for their children and also could use the money for issues at home, like renovating the home to make a couple more bedrooms. Arbaugh plainly tells them they will get the equivalent of $8000 US plus at least 3 jobs that will pay them and, "unlike other agencies the girls will not get in debt to the agency."

As the story unfolds we see that is clearly all a big lie. The girls, sent to Japan, go on shoots but are told they didn't get the job, yet some time later the girls find their photos in fashion magazines. Their contract specifies if they grow only 1 cm (less than 1/2 inch) in any of their three measurements, bust, waist, or hips, they will be sent home. One girl actually uses this as a way to get home early after she becomes disillusioned. Both girls we see go home (a different times) with debts to the agency of about $2000 US.

The documentary features 13-yr Russian girl Nadya Vall, chosen simply because she was being evaluated when the filming started. She is a sweet kid, tall and skinny, from a nice family but thrown into something she had zero preparation for. She copes best she can but gets very lonesome for home. It is hard to imagine how she was able to deal with what was thrown at her, and I found myself wondering what her actual expectations had been as she was getting into this.

This is a very worthwhile film simply for showing the seedy underbelly of the unregulated international child model business. Although not covered it is strongly implied that it is common for many of them to resort also to prostitution simply to make enough money to survive. All kids have dreams of some sort, no matter where they are born, it is sad to see how adults manipulate them for their own gain.

A disturbing dream

[StevePulaski · 8/10 · 21 November 2012]

David Redmon and Ashley Sabin's Girl Model is a lot like Lee Hirsch's directorial debut in the documentary world, Bully, which came out earlier this year. Both films are well done and do a mostly efficient job at drumming up awareness to their subject, but both leave things undeveloped and occasionally have a pending "half-baked" feeling to them. While I thoroughly enjoyed Bully, mainly for its message, its tone, and its deep stories told by the victims with sincerity and bravery, such topics as the reason why kids bullied others and interviews with the actual bullies or their parents were mysteriously absent.

We begin by meeting our main model, a thirteen year old Russian model named Nadya Vall. She is moderately tall, with pale skin, and a feeble body thanks to little food consumption. She has thinned herself down to amazingly slender shape only so she can be trafficked all across the United States, Siberia, and Japan to help her family through financial trouble. The picture opens with a beauty judge going through a lineup of girls, announcing their flaws to another woman as if they are public information. The dehumanization he brings to these women, as the looked of unadulterated failure rests in their eyes is hurtful to watch. The same man later tells us that three things you need to be a successful model are "grace, good communication skills, and manners." You'll also need a rhino's skin and a high level of self-esteem, but those perks come omitted from the modelling handbook I presume.

One modelling agency representative named Noah states that he loves the job of a model agent for the sole purpose that he feels he's giving these women a chance at greatness and an opportunity to grow as individuals. This is only one of the most likely hundreds of contradictions in the modelling world; you're told to be an individual, but to have your flaws nit-picked in public, as if there's no element of privacy at all, and to be told what to eat, what to weigh, and how to go about being liked in an industry dominated by ego, greed, and narcissism, it sounds like the gospel that preaches against human individuality.

The film features arguably one of the strangest, yet most soothing cinematographic elements in quite sometime. The entire film seems to encapsulate or mirror a dream sequence, with very glossy atmosphere, smoothly gray and faint images, and many, many scenes with very simple yet very divine direction.

However, this soft approach not only affects the film's look but the film's approach to the subject matter. In seventy eight minutes, Girl Model is a fine documentary, but it lacks examination on the larger scale issue at hand here and takes the passive, almost constructive criticism tactic on the modelling industry. It remains too safe, and has numerous times where anger and emotional weight could be applied, but cops out in favor of a more calm, controlled direction. Perhaps viewers would rather watch a calm, controlled look on the modelling industry, but I occasionally felt restless and a little unmoved when the film clearly could've invited social criticism into play, but unfortunately, took the safer, more emotionally sustained route.

Starring: Nadya Vall. Directed by: David Redmon and Ashley Sabin.

A buncha depressed predators

[a_mazone · 4/10 · 7 May 2022]

....helping another bunch of p*do creeps.

No idea why half the protagonists agreed to this documentary ,as between the creep under table fetish pics from the female booker and the sadist showing open corpses to young kids, they all should be arrested for child abuse tbh.

Poorly filmed too.

Interesting documentary.

[nikkd · 8/10 · 19 September 2015]

This movie gives us an interesting perspective of the modeling industry. Troubling as it may be sometimes the truth needs to be told. Like was mentioned earlier back home the families think that they are going to be well off and get pulled out of poverty but in reality the odds are against them. And the girls are lonely and not any better off after traveling to these modeling gigs. I think most people already know the things that are presented to us in this documentary but I think once we see it on the big screen it a little harder to ignore. Great movie to see for young girls and anybody who it involved in the fashion industry.

Good insight into the less known part of modeling world

[jetmirastatovci · 3/10 · 28 April 2023]

The documentary is very balanced. It should be seen by any parent who wants his or her daughter to become a model. It portrays the lives of unsuccessful models very realisticaly. Whereas we are used to seeing the glam part of modeling, we should not forget how many young innocent girls are lured into the industry with false promises. Two characfers, Nadya and her friend are very good examples of girls being in an industry where they dont fit. Obviously they dont have the looks. Nadya, as seen in the documentary, cannot make the agencies to like her eyes. Nontheless the scouts will never admit their mistakes of bringing someone who could be very successful in another field to an industry where they fail. They leave it to the fate even though it is obvious that they failed both their jobs and the expectations of young girls.

So in one word realistic, and eye opening.

Feeling small in Japan

[take2docs · 8/10 · 25 September 2021]

GIRL MODEL opens in drab Siberia, a region we quickly go onto discover is more than just a retirement community for political dissidents. Many young girls also live here, who long to escape this near-desolate landscape for greener pastures, and who will do almost anything in order to achieve this.

The doc centers around 13-year-old Nadya, she of long blond hair and cherubic visage, who enters the modeling business with high hopes and big dreams, yet whose naivete ends up getting the better of her. Curiously, the bobbysoxer's parents are totally supportive of this pursuit of hers. In one scene, Nadya is shown winning an award for best-looking model. The ingenue is all smiles; the joyous mother teary-eyed and appearing ever so proud of her daughter.

A bevy of girls show up at these auditions, scantily clad in two-piece swimwear and skimpy underthings, but only a few are chosen. One girl is turned away on account of her acne. Another is told that she can be of use only if she is put on a diet. Later on in the film, yet a third is sent packing on account of her having gained two centimeters in the waistline. Each one of these aspiring exports are scrutinized for blemishes, blubber, and the like, and appraised for their photogenic value. Those who make the grade and pass the scrupulous screening process -- overseen by a fastidious arbitrator -- are shipped out to overseas markets, where there the plan is to earn some quick, easy cash before returning home to their jerkwater hamlets.

This may sound like your typical rags-to-riches fairy tale but it's anything but that. Once in Japan (home to anime animation) Nadya -- sans a tag-along interpreter -- finds herself shacked up in a squalid hole-in-the-wall, earning next to nothing for her photo shoots, and missing her family. Heartbreaking is the moment that has the near-penniless and forlorn debutante calling home, breaking down crying on the phone, as a lonely girl in a foreign asphalt jungle, longing to see her parents and her beloved nana.

Dear Nadya. Such an innocent and unworldly shrinking violet. Just what the heck is she doing in such a seamy business as this? Note the scene that has her picking berries alongside her grandmother. Listen to what she has to say about what true beauty is in a person. Wise beyond her years and certainly not a shallow gal, and yet seemingly more than willing to pose half-naked for photographers. Go figure.

There is a seedy undercurrent to this documentary; a seeming veneer of normality; some sensed whitewashing, perhaps, to go with its overall dreary cinematography.

I found Nadya's agent particularly off-putting, akin to a shady city slicker. This self-congratulatory fellow, who describes himself as a 'superstud,' believes he is helping to give these girls a leg up in life. He talks about his caring so much for these models of his, as if fancying himself some knight who has come to their rescue. Oh, how very noble of him. Rather distastefully, the dude, while speaking to the camera, holds up an identification card (this, a wink to the numbered labels given his easy marks as if they were branded cattle), with his own mock label reading '666.' (Hard not to read between the lines of this one.)

Then there is Ashley, the agent's primary if not lone model scout; an ex-model who gives off the impression that she's in a rut and has some issues. Admittedly, I found her somewhat interesting. We are taken inside her mausoleum, er, house -- an interior, sterile, empty and cold, as if unlived in and absent of love. She introduces us to her two babies -- plastic dolls, actually; a boy and a girl. Appearing unfriended and unattached, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

GIRL MODEL is an alternately engrossing and unsettling viewing experience. Although not a film about procurers and prostitutes, it comes awfully close to being one, and if not a stepping-stone towards a land of sunshine and roses, we learn that the modeling business definitely has the potential of becoming a slippery-slope.