Angie: Garotas Perdidas

The topic of trafficking and prostitution has been brought to cinema in many forms. A difficult topic to tell a story around while avoiding the pitfalls of titillation, explicit content or exploitation in the process of illustrating what happens in the seedy world of trafficking. Many films struggle to find the line, either delving into making their own exploitation porn in the process or dubiously hiding behind the justification of art while the actors are exploited themselves. Angie: Lost Girls is a breath of emotional fresh air, dwelling on the psychological effects of trafficking on the victims and their families and the manipulation and struggles that make it such a serious and elusive crime.

Angie is a happy suburban girl, with providing parents and a good relationship with her sister. She is targeted by a trafficking ring and moments of weakness are exploited while entering into a secret relationship. She is misled into a meeting that turns into a nightmare as she is abused and trafficked against her will. Films of this vein are often heavy handed on the subversive guy and the harrowing tale of their escape. In this case, the film focuses on the tracking and capture of traffickers, and Angie's experience is one of many perspectives shared.

The camera work is excellent and most of the actors deliver solid performances, especially Jane Widdop as Angie. Lighting is also well handled, working with the director's vision of handling hard circumstances without crossing the line into explicit content and creating distinct feeling to the sets. This film is proof that content can be and is often more emotionally impactful when not explicitly shown.

There are many films in this genre, but few accurately portray the methodology, the effects and the struggles of trafficking. Some would argue that the circumstances of the film are hokey at times, and the criticism may be correct that there are some scenes that feel rushed, but the circumstances are real, they happen and are worth a watch.

I must say that I was taken by surprise by the 2020 movie titled "Angie: Lost Girls", as this turned out to be an emotional and hard-hitting movie. Now, keep in mind that the topic of human trafficking for sex is one that might not be suitable for everyone in the audience.

However, I will say that this is definitely a movie that is well-worth taking the time to sit down and watch, especially since it is dealing with such a grotesque and inhuman thing as sex trafficking. But it should be noted that writers Janet Odogwu and Julia Verdin definitely managed to write an intense and moving story that sweeps up the audience.

The story, while being rather tough and vile, is actually nicely told without going too far. You get to know what you need to know, so director Julia Verdin didn't overstep the boundaries of what would be deemed acceptable for a movie meant for entertainment purposes. Sure, some of the scenes are graphic and needs little explanation, but they help to further the storyline quite well.

It should be said that the acting performances in the movie were quite good, even for the one playing the scumbags behind the sex trafficking. I mean, this was a movie after all, and the actors and actresses were portraying fictional characters. But they put on really good performances that you start to forget that it is actually just a movie. I was not familiar with the performers in the movie, but I will take the time to applaud Jane Widdop (playing Angie) for her performance in this movie.

My rating of "Angie: Lost Girls" is a solid and well-deserved six out of ten stars. It is a movie that should be watched, if you have the time and opportunity to do so.

It was a movie that made me cry.

It was also difficult to understand that there are definitely many women in the world who are suffering from such a thing, regardless of minors.

This movie is undervalued. The acting of the actors who passionately performed each character stands out and the flow of the play is not boring. In particular, the actor's acting as a villain was great.

I came out of this film thinking this is such a well-told story of an oft too difficult subject to address.

Without giving the story away, I can say I enjoyed the excellent writing and direction by Julia Verdin and the fine cinematography by Peter Holland.

And the powerful acting, particularly from the traumatised Angie, played by Jane Widdop.

Yes there is much trauma in the story but not without emotional moments such as between Angie and her family, unaccustomed as most of us are, to having a sex trafficking survivor/victor in our midst.

A thriller with a message that sustained my interest throughout.