Girl You Know It's True

To the writers, producers, and storytellers of Girl You Know It's True:

First, thank you.

I came into this film expecting to revisit the pop scandal of my youth-Milli Vanilli, the Grammy, the lip-syncing, the fall. That was the version of the story the world fed me back then. I loved the music. I believed, like many others, that we'd all been duped.

But what I watched was not a scandal.

It was a tragedy.

A human one.

And one that hit me harder than I ever expected.

What you gave us wasn't just the truth behind the band- You gave us Rob Pilatus, the person behind the image.

And as an adoptee, I recognized that boy immediately.

When Rob said,

"I knew why they adopted me. They had something to prove," it was like someone reached into my chest and gripped my heart.

That was not a throwaway line. That was a life sentence.

A truth that every adopted person I know understands too well.

And that brings me to what I need to say:

This film should have included a trigger warning.

You gave us suicide. You gave us addiction. You gave us exploitation.

But the part that broke me-and that will break countless adoptees who watch this-came without a whisper of caution:

The portrayal of Rob's adoption trauma.

You showed the way he was abandoned, shaped, discarded, and ultimately destroyed by a system and a society that never saw the child behind the performance. And of course, as so often happens in real life-the adoptee is the one who dies in the end. The one who carries the most pain. The one who is never allowed to fully heal.

We live in an era where even fictional stories are prefaced with content warnings.

But this? This was a real story.

And you told it well. So well that it triggered something ancient and agonizing in me.

What I want the world to understand is this:

You think adopted children are "better off." You think we're lucky.

You think we're saved.

But unless you've been through it, you'll never truly grasp what it feels like to be

removed from your roots

stripped of origin and story

used as proof of someone else's goodness

and then asked to smile for the camera and be grateful.

Rob was a brilliant, broken, beautiful soul who never got the closure he deserved.

He was a boy who wanted to be seen.

And he died trying.

So again, I say thank you.

Because you told his story.

You honored his pain.

And now, I will honor it too.

But let this be a reminder to Hollywood, to storytellers, to audiences:

Adoptees are not props.

We are not plot twists.

We are not here to be tragic and then disappear.

We are still here.

We are still carrying it.

And some of us-like Rob-don't survive it.

Let his story stay with you.

Because it will never leave me.

Sincerely, Catherine An adoptee A witness A survivor And now-one voice louder.

This is by far the best movie I've seen in 2024 so far. I loved watching them explore how exploitative and fake the music industry can be.

It's a shame that the movie didn't get much of an audience outside Germany. I'm actually blown away that the studio never distributed the film in the US, despite the subject matter being so relevant.

My friend and I are Americans living in Berlin and we rented this film on Amazon Prime last night. Surprisingly, there were no English subtitles available, so we needed to use Google Translate for all of the moments when the actors were speaking german. This was a real shame!

Took us about 4 hours to get through and luckily we do speak a little German. We used it as a fun exercise to improve our vocabulary, but I could see this being a major turn-off for other viewers.

For a low-budget music biopic, this film makes a compelling watch in part because the story of Rob and Fab says a great deal about the artifice of the music industry and the fleeting nature of fame. It's absolutely and rightfully sympathetic to its main characters, who got swept into a fraud that got bigger and more elaborate than anyone expected. The performances are excellent, and the director makes some intriguing choices, especially toward the end of the film. Whether you are old enough to remember the scandal or know nothing, it's a film that should keep most viewers engaged. Also, the friendship between Rob and Fab, provides real heart to the story.

All the main actors also look eerily like the real people they are playing, so kudos to the casting director.

Rob & Fab were the Superstars of 1989 and although I wasn't a fan back than, the hype was felt by everyone. And suddenly it was all over... Simon Verhoeven made a great biopic about the rise and fall of those two guys, that works on different levels. The wall breaking was a nice touch, but what really worked, was the acting of the two leads, who fit perfectly. Combined with Matthias Schweighöfer as Farian the casting was top notch. Of course the script tried to shift the blame from the protagonists and yes, you will feel sorry for them, but what stays, is the fantastic product of Milli Vanilli, that wouldn't have worked without Rob &Fab. The movie tries to give them the credit they deserve. All in all, "Girl you know it's true" is really worth a watch, especially for everyone who was around when it all happened.

I really enjoyed this movie so much, I'm leaving a review 10 minutes after the credits. I remember when Milli Vanili hit the scene when I was in college. Their dance moves were so hot, music so upbeat, their act was so fresh and their international vibe so cool. Who cares if they lip synced, they were entertainers. This movie did a wonderful job explaining their quick, huge ride to the top, and their precipitous hard fall. The actors who portrayed the duo looked like them and did a great job. I had to do a double take at times. The film is very well made. Living in LA, I've seen my share of one hit wonders. This movie is a grim reminder of the cost of fame.

Most memorable is the music. This movie brought back memories of how great their songs were. I really wished they could have made more before the gig was up. 'It's a tragedy to think the dream is over', so apropos.