This review by Tom Bielby of Front Room Cinema.
I have a slight confession to make before I begin this review; documentaries are not my forte, I much prefer to escape reality by immersing myself in a fictional film but if one comes along that grabs my attention I am liable to become completely captivated. As I put the screener disc for Girl Model in my Blu-ray Player I had my fingers crossed that this would inform and entertain in equal measures as it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that I have no knowledge whatsoever when it comes to the teenage model industry, and I would hope that it would worry you if I did.
After a brief shot of the snowy Siberian scenery we are introduced to a concert hall full of teenage models all nicely dressed in their skimpiest outfits, hoping to make their mark on the modelling industry by putting themselves through what at times appeared to be quite a cruel auditioning process. When facing the ‘panel’ the girls were talked about as if they weren’t there with the majority of the discussions criticising the potential models about their weight or supposed unsightly aspects of their body which seemed very harsh, but then again, that’s probably why I’m not a model agent.
The main bulk of the film follows thirteen year old Nadya who is promised a lucrative modelling career in Japan and a contract that will pay $8,000 and guarantee two photoshoot jobs whilst she is over there. As you can imagine, her poverty-stricken family are delighted to hear this news and she is soon off on the trip of a lifetime, a very vulnerable girl in a very strange environment. I was amazed to learn that one stipulation of her contract was that if a model puts on just 1cm in their hip, waist or bust size the contract could be terminated and there were other unsettling sides to the industry that were revealed throughout the film.
Along the way we meet Ashley, a former teen model who now makes a living sourcing teenage models for various Japanese agents and has made a successful career in doing so, although her video diary that highlights certain aspects of her past hint at a more troubled side to her personality, and some of the mental anguish seems to remain. Her attempts to comfort and befriend Nadya throughout her time in Japan fail abysmally, Ashley promised a bright future for Nadya but what she finds on her arrival there is clearly far removed from her initial expectations.
There are some disturbing insights into the teen model industry and some very frank conversations with the people behind companies who ship girls around the globe on false promises that are very eye-opening. One such discussion involves a man explaining how he takes young models to a morgue in order to see corpses of teenagers who have died following overdoses. He then goes on to explain that he never has any problems with the young girls after this and shows know emotion when he says it completely changes them. The manipulative people at the top of this industry come across as heartless and unflinching in their treatment of the girls who put their lives on the line to provide for those at the top of the chain.
Girl Model is a fairly powerful documentary, its sombre mood demands your attention from the word go, and with a running time of just under eighty minutes it does not outstay its welcome. It may be upsetting and uncompromising at times but there are parts which feel misplaced and unnecessary. Despite this, the film-makers definitely deserve some credit for submerging themselves deep in the teenage model industry and providing some fascinating insights into what for most people will be completely new territory.
Not quite the eye-opener it could have been, Girl Model is still a worthwhile watch and will undoubtedly turn some heads in the process. For those interested in the topic I would imagine it is essential viewing, and those who seek it out may well be impressed by the up and coming documentary team of David Redmon and Ashley Sabin who are definitely worth looking out for in the future.
GIRL MODEL IS RELEASED NATIONALLY IN THE UK ON 10TH FEBRUARY 2012 BY DOGWOOF
