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.
So much official veneration had stuck to Anne Frank over the years that it was startling to hear her lively, witty, soulful voice come springing off the page. She deserves better than to be relegated to sainthood.
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 being shot in the head by the Taliban; she had offended their religious beliefs by speaking out in favor of education for girls.
Since recovering from her injury, she’s published a book, bonded with Bono, and secured the Nobel Peace Prize. And I repeat: She deserves better than sainthood.
“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 stock documentary approach, with interviews and music and animated sequences.
But it’s a pleasure to watch, solely for the sake of seeing Malala in action and in interviews. She still has some nerve damage from the 2012 attack, yet appears just as sharp and articulate (and funny) now as in footage taken before the shooting.
She’s bossy when she lords it over her two younger brothers, and she’s girlish when she refuses to admit that her fascination with certain handsome cricket players might have something to do with how hunky they are.
The film is meant to be inspirational, so there isn’t much to moderate the adoring portrait. Guggenheim raises a few probing questions: How dark did it get for Malala during her recuperation? Did her activist father rush her into the role of rebellious spokesperson, a dangerous spot for a female in Pakistan? (The family now lives in exile in England.)
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 delightful thing is that Malala is too distinctive to simply stand on a pedestal for a do-gooder movie. Her quick, observant personality comes shining out of this project, as though eager to move past her biographer and get on with it. She’ll be heard from again.
“He Named Me Malala” (3 stars)
A standard documentary with a sparkling subject: Malala Yousafzai, the teenager shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012. Malala is a quick, charming subject, a much more endearing presence than you might expect her media anointing. She’s also got plenty to say, which is part of the value of this film.
Rating: PG-13, for subject matter
Showing: Guild 45th
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