the audience applauded

So much average

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Malala Yousafzai is a young activist for womens rights. At 15yrs old she was shot in the head by Taliban but regardless continued to spread her message worldwide as an ambassador for equality.I expected a powerful documentary telling her entire story but what I got felt very watered down. Focusing as much on her personal life and that of her father as the real matters this wasn't as gritty nor as emotional as I'd expected.For this I blame the director, I don't know what vision he had but this is less a thought provoking documentary and more a Behind The Music (1997) kind of thing.Her message is deep, it's meaningful and one that should be spread but this documentary is not the way of doing it. To me these 90 minutes were counter productive in many ways. She fights for equality but defends the religion that has prevented it and resulted in all the atrocities that have befallen her sex and resulted in her catching a bullet to the face.I do love a good documentary, this simply isn't one.The Good:Core message is greatThe Bad:Too light heartedExcessive focus on her fatherReligion is the cause of all of this so why defend it?Things I Learnt From This Documentary:If your doctrines say that you should be subserviant and you deserve all the ills that befall you from those that claim to love you, then it makes perfect sense to try and make people ignore it as opposed to leaving the religion.....

I watched this movie with some trepidation, having wondered how much Malala was a product of Western media and manipulation. However, she completely won me over. I worked in education programs in Afghanistan and with Afghan refugees in Pakistan. I know firsthand the challenges that the communities in this region face, living with the horrors wrought by those who cope with their fears and insecurities by lashing out at anything they see as threatening, and living within the beautiful soul and heart of the Pashtun people and culture. Malala is a model of this spirit, as are her father, mother and brothers. I also thought the movie was beautifully made. For me the animated scenes made about parts of the story that couldn't be shown as reality were inspired. We saw what was only memory as a story, which is all it could be. Going back and forth from the present to the past made be slowly come to see how the present Malala came to be. She is smart, wise way beyond her years, funny, delightful. Spending this time with her was inspiring. Everyone who wants to understand the many faces of the human spirit, of Islam, of dedication, of human rights, should see this movie.

The story about this young girl is of course sad and shows a true side of what people in that region are suffering on a daily basis. But what has actually been achieved from this girls story? Other than PR companies and media drawing from her tragedy, nothing. The wars have increased, the death tolls are mounting and Malala is now just a household name, without people knowing anything more than she got shot in the head by Taliban coward. Yes she is a great image, but can we believe that her speeches are written from he heart and all her words, hardly likely. Do the U.N and other nations, who effectively created the unrest in this region actually care? Not really, but to have Malala give speeches, it is a constant reminder of the validation of continued presence and involvement by outsiders, which gives way to the uprising of terrorist organisations. This movie is the exactly what I expected to see, the facts were pathetic, the title is self obsessed and the whole message about what the true meaning of her story is lost. A story like this needs to be told with raw emotion and scripting, not through the eyes of someone who thinks "let's make a blockbuster, tear jerker, lets win awards via the suffering of others". Unfortunately for Malala, she will never lead a normal life and has become another puppet for the controlling powers. Let the girl be allowed to lead the life that she wants to lead. A responsibility like this is too much for a young person to be burdened with. A shame that advantage was not taken to show a vision of what it is like for people, especially children growing up in these war zones, through the eyes of a lens, which may have actually had some impact on opening eyes of the rest of the world.

After seeing this I want to change my name to Malala.Malala is a noteworthy individual who deserves to be documented. Like she says in the movie, her story is every girls story, and it deserves to me told.This doc tells a story of a 17 year old girl and how she interacts with her family, how she goes to school, her attraction to boys, and her not so average status as a world wide celebrity just for speaking out for a woman's right to education.It's a problem a huge chunk of the world faces and some of us can't fully wrap our head around. The concept that you could get shot in the face for speaking your mind about the basic needs of all humans. He Name Me Malala follows this brave young girl around the globe as she campaigns for children like herself to be educated.My favorite part of the movie, He Named Me Malala is the guy who named her Malala. They portrayed a truly great man (behind the woman), who saw his child (not a boy or a girl) and encouraged her to speak her mind, and they displayed it like it was not a big deal, just a father doing the best thing for his children.To me it was what all of us have in common with Malala that makes this documentary special, and in return makes everything that she has done inspirational.Go see it and get inspired.