He Named Me Malala

Special treat today everyone: I saw the documentary “He Named Me Malala,” which came out at the beginning of the month, so I will review it tonight.

Robert Horton begun his review by stating, “A few years ago I re-visited a book that I hadn't looked at since an assigned high school reading many years earlier. Which is how I was reminded that Anne Frank's diary is not only an important Holocaust document, but a magnificent piece of writing by a singular author.”

A lot of official worship had stuck to Anne Frank over the years that it was surprising to hear her energetic, humorous, expressive voice come jumping off the page. She deserves better than to be transferred to sainthood.

Horton went on to say, “I had similar thoughts while watching “He Named Me Malala,” the new documentary about Malala Yousafzai.” Malala was 15 years old when she became world famous after getting shot in the head by the Taliban. She had offended their religious beliefs by speaking out favoring education for girls.

Since recovering from the shot, she’s published a book, made a friendship with “U2” singer, Bono, and won the Nobel Peace Prize. Horton mentioned, “And I repeat: She deserves better than sainthood.”

Horton mentioned, ““He Named Me Malala” is directed by Davis Guggenheim, who copped an Oscar for the Al Gore lecture “An Inconvenient Truth.”” The film has the collection documentary approach, with interviews and music and animated sequences.

However, it’s a pleasure to watch, mainly for the sake of seeing Malala in action and in interviews. She still has some nerve damage from the 2012 bullet wound, yet appears just as sharp and expressive (and funny) now as in footage taken before the shooting.

She’s bossy when she is with her two younger brothers, and she’s girly when she refuses to admit that she has a crush on certain handsome cricket players might have something to do with how muscular they are.

The film is meant to be inspirational, so there isn’t much to moderate the affectionate picture. Guggenheim raises a few interested questions: How dark did it get for Malala during her recovery? Did her activist father rush her into being a disobedient spokesperson, a dangerous spot for a woman in Pakistan? (The family now lives in banishment in England.)

Horton is right when he says, “These issues are not pushed — this isn't investigative journalism, but a film with a cause.” (The cause is female empowerment, but it would be nice if we are reminded that offending someone with speech should not be a capital crime.)

The wonderful fact is that Malala is too typical to simply stand on a podium for a do-gooder movie. Her quick, observant personality comes completely out of this project, as though enthusiastic to move past her biographer and get on with it. She’ll be heard from again.

I have to say, I was really looking forward to see this movie. After seeing Malala interviewed by two of my favorite interviewers, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, which is how I first knew of her, I wanted to see this movie. My whole family went to see this, and we all thought that it was good. The only problem that all the critics seem to have is that they wanted a full biography on Malala, which couldn’t be done with this movie. It only showed the before and after effects of what she went through, and I think they did a good job portraying that. Definitely see this movie; it gets a huge recommendation from me.

Well, stay tuned tomorrow when I continue with “Halloween Month.”