HE NAMED ME MALALA
TIFF DOCS D: Davis Guggenheim. U.S. 87 min. Sep 12, 2:15 pm Ryerson Sep 13, 11:30 am Bloor Hot Docs Sep 19, 6:15 pm Scotiabank 13. See listings. Rating: NNN
Malala Yousafzai became a global hero after surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Now living with her family in England, she advocates for the education of girls and young woman.
Oscar-winning director Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) observes her in that role as she makes speeches and accepts awards, but also in her home life, squabbling with her brothers and feeling awkward at her Birmingham school. Malala’s relationship with her father, Ziauddin, forms the backbone of the narrative – which Guggenheim proceeds to needlessly complicate with stylistic choices like non-chronological editing, overwrought animated sequences and Thomas Newman’s insufferable inspirational score.
It’s as if he doesn’t trust us to respond to Malala’s story on our own.
