I Am Still Here

The photography, performance, soundtrack, direction and even the script on this story is so poorly developed that any true story behind won't get justice out of this abomination.

One of the best human trafficking feature films I have seen. The story is compelling and yet not overly dramatized. It is solid storytelling and yet also useful in pointing out many truths of human trafficking. It is going to be hard to watch for the naive. As someone who works to assist trafficking survivors, this story shows well some aspects of trafficking.

As a sexual violence crisis worker and victim advocate, this movie hit me hard. What some have seen as poor acting, I saw as innocence played incredibly well by mere children. I felt the main character portrayed the confusion and brokenness so well. By midway through the movie, I'd forgotten I was watching a reenactment. What some saw as a so-called "romantic" relationship between a victim and her abusive captor, played to me as the exact words a pimp would use to reel in and keep girls under lock and key. So much of this movie mirrored actual accounts I myself have heard. It hurt my heart, watching it play out with such young girls. Sadly; it happens just like this movie portrayed, in every city, everyday.

Such an important topic to try and spread the message about and yet, no effort, budget, direction was given to this piece. Sad.

I'm a grown man who's seen plenty of drama films but this one hit a nerve with me. It made me angry, and I was wondering "what can I do to help trafficking victims?". Excellent acting by the child lead. Very hard watch at times, but it had me hooked to the end. If you're anything like me, it'll leave you feeling that our governments collectively need to a do a lot more to protect children from this evil of trafficking. And if that was the film makers goal, then it was a noble one and mission accomplished. Hopefully more people watch this film and are left with the same impression. Excellent film.