DVD Review: He Named Me Malala

I had been wanting to see He Named Me Malala in the theaters, but missed it, so I was excited to watch it on DVD. However, the film doesn't give us much information in general, and could have been better in that aspect.

Official synopsis:
From the director of Waiting for “Superman” and the Academy Award®-Winning An Inconvenient Truth comes this highly inspiring and deeply moving documentary about courage, survival, and empowerment.  He Named Me Malala tells the remarkable true story of teenage Malala Yousafzai, who was attacked by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan for advocating girls’ education. Rather than be silenced, Malala emerged as a global voice for the education rights of all children, and in 2014, she became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize recipient.  This intimate glimpse into the life of an extraordinary girl is sure to inspire your entire family!

The documentary offers an intimate look into Malala’s life both before and following the attack. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this past July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education. The shooting sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. Malala miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.

HE NAMED ME MALALA features Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Toor Pekai Yousafzai, Khushal and Atal Yousafzai. The film was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, in association with Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Participant Media, with National Geographic Channel.  The film is produced by Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Davis Guggenheim.  Executive producers are Mohamed Al Mubarak and Michael Garin from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Jeff Skoll from Participant Media, and Shannon Dill.  Inspired by the book I Am Malala.

I wasn't very familiar with Malala's situation / what had happened to her, so I found that part of the movie interesting. However, the movie tended to focus more on Malala present-day then what actually happened to her. We also get a good chunk that is focused on her father and his efforts (which were also noble, like Malala's) present-day and in the past.

I found out more about Malala from her Wikipedia page than I did from this movie. She did win the Nobel Prize (was a co-recipient) in 2014 for her work in advocating education for girls, and it also talked about the events in 2012 that led to her getting shot in the head by the Taliban, and how she recovered from it.

The film also had some animated parts, which I thought were very creative, of Malala and her parents and other important people in her life.

I give this film a Maybe review and 3 stars out of 5. It's not an uninteresting film by any means, but I do wish that it included more information about Malala, rather than just focusing on her present-day (2014, anyways) life in England.

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this DVD for reviewing purposes. However, the opinions expressed here are my own.

{Click here to purchase this DVD, or click here to rent on Amazon}

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