At the time of this review, "I Am All Girls" had a rating of 4.9. That's pathetic, given the horrific subject matter as well as execution. The all around acting was very good as was the writing, cinematography and story. And, as this movie showed, revenge is best when served with a side dish of whoop ass. To be fair, this is no "The Godfather", "Casablanca" or "Amadeus." What it is, though, is a raw, visceral, in your face, unapologetic crime thriller that grabs you by the cajones and doesn't let go. Recommended.
125 Reviews
Unpleasant but necessary film making.
STEVE24BUS18 May 2021
An unpleasant subject matter turned into quite a good thriller/vigalante film. Inspired by true events and the shocking statistics in the end credits make for disturbing and grim reading. Well acted without falling into the buddy movie scenario, the bond between the leads becomes quite real rather than a scripted movie, you can feel the sadness in their hearts which governs and justifies their actions. A disturbing film, says quite a lot about the evil that is in the world today.
I think this movie was fantastic
Zeezoo_Capone16 May 2021
HUMAN TRAFFICKING ON THE SPOTLIGHT
nrgigaba14 May 2021
The movie highlights the very important topic of human trafficking, but it's not a memorable movie.
It's not a movie I'd remember when I recommend "movies to watch" to people.
They could of done so much more with the storyline but it felt lazy.
It's not a movie I'd remember when I recommend "movies to watch" to people.
They could of done so much more with the storyline but it felt lazy.
Worth watching AND globally relevant
jhannan31 May 2021
This is a good movie that I watched start to finished without being bored. I think a "7" is right on as it isn't a award winner by any means but was interesting and suspenseful.
At the same time I also learned more about a major problem in the world today and what happens when these girls are kidnapped and sent off to Iran or elsewhere. It's a travesty.
At the same time I also learned more about a major problem in the world today and what happens when these girls are kidnapped and sent off to Iran or elsewhere. It's a travesty.
Worth a watch
redpathsusan9822 May 2021
The film is a bit slow, and the main characters don't have much personality....but it does highlight this awful crime, that is happening everyday. It's worth a watch but don't expect to be on the edge of your seat xx.
Based on Fact but.....
jerry_maycock23 May 2021
Not your best Sunday afternoon matinee but a film worth watching if simply to make you think about modern day slavery and human trafficking.
Starts off with a misconception, the criminal's, arrested in 1994 , had his testimony not censured by the Apartheid government in South Africa but by the incoming ANC government. Easy blame Apartheid for this appalling act of censure.
Difficult in places but sadly a theme recurrent in every Society to a greater or lesser degree. Who knows way West going be legalised rather than criminalised.
Starts off with a misconception, the criminal's, arrested in 1994 , had his testimony not censured by the Apartheid government in South Africa but by the incoming ANC government. Easy blame Apartheid for this appalling act of censure.
Difficult in places but sadly a theme recurrent in every Society to a greater or lesser degree. Who knows way West going be legalised rather than criminalised.
It was missing something.
rdamian196317 May 2021
This movie had a lot if potential but somehow missed the mark. The acting was decent, the script reasonable but somehow it just came across somewhat flat. It is worth viewing but just doesn't give you the impact it should.
Unfair reviews
mattfrancis-0396321 May 2021
This movie got unfair reviews but only just. There's lots of elements within the film that are supposedly meant to be good viewing, emotional and teary but it's almost doesn't quite come off. Unfair reviews but could have been better.
How did you manage to make this topic boring??
wendy-solomon1 March 2022
I don't mind a dark or bleak subject matter (and this definitely was). But just about everything else was wrong also wrong with this movie. The scenes were dark - meaning the sets were unlit properly, so at times it was hard to tell what was happening. The main character spent a lot of screen time doing some annoying heavy mouth breathing that was disconcerting. Was there a plot somewhere in there? If so, it was very hard to follow and had no logical progression. The pace was so slow I got bored and contemplated turning it off. I kept thinking it was going to get better. It didn't! The story was supposedly about a real situation, but it was so completely different from that incident that it bore no relation to it. It wasn't so much a movie as a collection of random thoughts. It's too bad they took an important topic and reduced it to... not sure what.
Give it a break
micscotty16 May 2021
Misleading title , good crime investigation thriller
JonanthanNewOrleans18 May 2021
This is a very female movie , unfortunately the title is too ''feminist'' so i guess it won't have the success it could have had if it had a more appropriate title and wasn't so pro female and against white males.
Good crime investigation taking place in South Africa
7/10.
Good crime investigation taking place in South Africa
7/10.
Vengeance
ropelawshiel20 May 2021
A good film well acted by actors I do not know. My gripe with many revenge-type films is the inability to dish out real pain to evil perpetrators. Individuals who rape, torture, murder, and cause terrible pain many times over, get a clean death, bang your dead. The Girl with the Dragon tattoo delivers Colin Farrell Dead Man Down; I spit on your Grave. Stop this PC no revenge nonsense. If honest, we want evil criminals dealt with in films properly (this is escapism, not real life). In real life, bad people get away doing bad things all the time.
Everyone shouldl watch this.
abch-0279714 May 2021
Better than the rating indicates
peeps_ahoy10 June 2021
This was a good film and keeps your attention as you root for the main characters. It is absolutely a CRIME THRILLER so maybe people were going into this expecting straight-up horror. It isn't very bloody. It's pretty straight-forward. But it's still very satisfying of a watch, while still being a bit heartbreaking.
Definitely deserves at least a 6 rating imo. It's good. Not life-changing, but good.
Definitely deserves at least a 6 rating imo. It's good. Not life-changing, but good.
Human depravity
sergepesic10 September 2023
Children trafficking and abuse are horrors of human depravity. They rightly belong to the darkest recesses of evildoing. Movies usually deftly avoid this topic, unless it goes to the tired premise of a revenge movie that serves no other purpose than to give us an empty satisfaction that justice somehow prevails. And yet, does it really? "I am all girls", gritty and unflinching South African movie avoids the familiar albeit trite path. The protagonist, detective tethering on the brink of exhaustion, is too real and wounded to become an action movie ass-kicker. Her successes are few and far in between and the shocking fact that only 1% of victims are found and saved in the end, makes her obsession overshadowed with destructive doom. Will she be the next victim that this monster devours?
Unfair reviews
romifreysen10 January 2024
All the negative reviews are saying that Iran wouldn't be involved in evil acts. This movie is based on a true story... I don't understand how people give it a bad rating because they don't believe their country Iran can do anything bad. Ridiculous as any country is capable of evil, whether people want to admit it or not. These girls stories should be heard and this movie portrays their stories realistically.
The local acting was good and worthy of a decent unbiased rating from people reviewing the movie.
The topic is important but difficult to talk about, hence movies like these are important.
The local acting was good and worthy of a decent unbiased rating from people reviewing the movie.
The topic is important but difficult to talk about, hence movies like these are important.
Too underrated
Luigi Di Pilla7 August 2021
Dramatic thriller with full of suspenses and lot of pains for this true story. The atmosphere and filming locations are outstanding and all the actors including the staff made a great job.
It shows how power can reign even on that level.
My wife gave 6/10 and me 7/10. I round it up on solid 7/10. See it. If you like this watch all Taken series.
It shows how power can reign even on that level.
My wife gave 6/10 and me 7/10. I round it up on solid 7/10. See it. If you like this watch all Taken series.
Good, but slow
Calicodreamin19 May 2021
A fairly good movie in terms of storyline and acting, there were some heartfelt moments and a few good action shots. However, the overall pace of the film was slow and there was a lack of chemistry between the two leads.
South African Human trafficking - kinda says it all.
Jim_Screechy16 May 2021
I'd not had any prior knowledge of this movie, so when I saw the title (and the poster) I thought, Ill avoid this one since its going too be a film about lesbians, woman power or similar such issues for which i 'generally' have little interest and I suspect will be... well rubbish.
I was partly correct but wholly wrong about the premise of it not being interesting and well made. I enjoyed it, and though it was quite a 'heavy' subject the film for the most part did an commendable job at dealing with a difficult topic in an effective way for screen and movie appeal.
I was unfamiliar with any of the cast, but generally it was an capable group of people who did a great job with the material. The long string of individuals who play the bad guys/girls from cabinet kingpin to whorehouse madam all do an very well with the roes, as do the score of children used in the movie.
Erica Wessels does a great job with the lead and really does well portraying a woman immersed in her work but tortured by the baggage that goes with the position. I'm thankful the the director didn't go for the stereotypical hardcore Hollywood interpretation of a female lead police investigator here, since I think it would have lost this element of the screenplay that is quite powerfully portrayed by the movie. Hlubi Mboya also does a good job with her role and the two have great on screen chemistry which unravels my prior conclusions around a perceived lack of interest.
What the film is about has been done to death by other reviewers so I won''t go into it. Some aspects of the film could do with some work. For example, there are some basic oversights/errors in police practice, that are difficult to ignore, and our maverick heroin seems to ignore procedure as a matter of course in a manner that that can only be matched in roles played by Mel Gibson or perhaps Bruce Willis. Additionally, her propensity to act on emotion, ignoring both common sense and logic (I suspect for the advancement of the plot) is a little ridiculous to say the least.
The script in places is a little forced and some characters (the police chief/ lieutenant in particular) has a character straight out of a bond movie. That would not have been so bad if he's role had been played well.
I've probably already written too much, but I will reiterate that the story is an interesting and intriguing adaptation of the underside of human trafficking. It's well thought out, well directed, well shot, and acted. Its not a masterpiece but it is a good film worth seeing.
I think 7/10 is fair score.
I was partly correct but wholly wrong about the premise of it not being interesting and well made. I enjoyed it, and though it was quite a 'heavy' subject the film for the most part did an commendable job at dealing with a difficult topic in an effective way for screen and movie appeal.
I was unfamiliar with any of the cast, but generally it was an capable group of people who did a great job with the material. The long string of individuals who play the bad guys/girls from cabinet kingpin to whorehouse madam all do an very well with the roes, as do the score of children used in the movie.
Erica Wessels does a great job with the lead and really does well portraying a woman immersed in her work but tortured by the baggage that goes with the position. I'm thankful the the director didn't go for the stereotypical hardcore Hollywood interpretation of a female lead police investigator here, since I think it would have lost this element of the screenplay that is quite powerfully portrayed by the movie. Hlubi Mboya also does a good job with her role and the two have great on screen chemistry which unravels my prior conclusions around a perceived lack of interest.
What the film is about has been done to death by other reviewers so I won''t go into it. Some aspects of the film could do with some work. For example, there are some basic oversights/errors in police practice, that are difficult to ignore, and our maverick heroin seems to ignore procedure as a matter of course in a manner that that can only be matched in roles played by Mel Gibson or perhaps Bruce Willis. Additionally, her propensity to act on emotion, ignoring both common sense and logic (I suspect for the advancement of the plot) is a little ridiculous to say the least.
The script in places is a little forced and some characters (the police chief/ lieutenant in particular) has a character straight out of a bond movie. That would not have been so bad if he's role had been played well.
I've probably already written too much, but I will reiterate that the story is an interesting and intriguing adaptation of the underside of human trafficking. It's well thought out, well directed, well shot, and acted. Its not a masterpiece but it is a good film worth seeing.
I think 7/10 is fair score.
Based on true story
samchie-4425016 May 2021
Surely an eye opener. People commented on the bad story line or whether it's a Sheikh's or Iranian, but the real story shows that more than 500K girls are trafficked and more than half are kids. Wake up people.
The actors did well, too. A bit more suspense can add to the excitement factor.
The actors did well, too. A bit more suspense can add to the excitement factor.
They missed a mark
nontombibusyforbs21 August 2022
The movie was good and the subject matter was important however I didn't understand why they were using the white girls that were taken when it was made clear that they made sure to kidnap girls from the townships. What a complete whitewash of these girls' trauma.
Flat
izzy-leber19 May 2021
This movie had the potential to be a winner but unfortunately falls very flat. There is no connection to any of the characters even though the movie tries to force this the whole way through. It had no soul (another Mcnetflix movie).
Serious matter fictionalized
kosmasp4 August 2021
You know sometimes we wish life would be as "easy" to swallow or digest than movies are. This begins with quite the downer message though. Will it be true for the rest of the movie or will this take a more somber, positive attitude and outlook on the subject matter? I won't spoil that for you, I'll just say that there is way more action here than some might like - realism is traded for effect - for better or worse.
Acting is good and the vengeance theme is something almost everyone will agree to - to some degree at least. This is based on real life attrocities ... and it shines a light on them. Don't expect this to be a documentary though or close to the truth when it comes to what exactly happens.
Acting is good and the vengeance theme is something almost everyone will agree to - to some degree at least. This is based on real life attrocities ... and it shines a light on them. Don't expect this to be a documentary though or close to the truth when it comes to what exactly happens.
Worth to watch
nicolafestelli6 August 2021
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
