London Film Festival: ‘He Named Me Malala’ Film Review

HE NAMED ME MALALA directed by Davis Guggenheim. Malala’s near-murder, recovery and family exile in England is essayed, sometimes in watercolor animation, bolstering what would be talking-head voiceovers. Instead, Guggenheim likens Ziauddin to Malala and emphasizes the symbolic meaning of her name, which derives from that of an Afghan folk hero. The basic story is compelling: When the Taliban took over Malala’s village in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, books and videos were burned, and girls were forbidden any education except religious education. (Her father was a schoolteacher, while her mother was uneducated.) And he spends a good bit of time with Malala, who is lively, articulate and occasionally girlish.

The film opens unexpectedly, with a attractive animated sequence recounting the legend of the young woman for whom Malala was named, a 19th century freedom fighter against the British in Afghanistan. This despite Malala’s actions, which are pretty unquestionably heroic: She won the Nobel Peace Prize after publicly condemning the Taliban for discouraging Pakistani girls from attending public schools – and after she was shot in the face for so daring.

The film is an intimate collection of stories and images illustrating Malala’s life, from her early life as a child to present day. Despite these few glitches in storytelling, Guggenheim scored marvelous interviews with Malala and her entire family, including a younger brother who is an uninhibited and engaging imp. The fact that he earned their trust is a tribute to his empathy as a filmmaker. Just a normal girl, making her courage and accomplishments that much more extraordinary. The film juxtaposes Yousafzai’s strong family bonds and elevated celebrity status, with the tragic events which left her permanently wounded by Taliban gunmen and led her on the path to her current activism. It was given to Malala by her father, a passionate educator who raised his daughter to be independent and outspoken. She said, “Many people did not think that a woman can be a leader”. He says, “If you’re building towards Malala’s choice to step on camera and speak out against these tyrants… that needs to be at the end, and chronologically, it wasn’t at the end”.