(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
He Named Me Malala Directed by: Davis Guggenheim, Photographer: Erich Roland Da Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a year ago, as the 17 year old she was the youngest recipient of the award. Davis Guggenheim's Cinema Documentary He Named Me Malala ends with this award, and begins with the account of the historical figure she is named after. Through one of the film's continuous animated sequences, we are initially told about Malalai, who according to legend spoke to the Pashtun forces during the Battle of Maiwand in 1880, when England tried to colonize Afghanistan. The brave woman – who was still in her teens – was then shot and killed herself, but her motivating words must have been decisive for the British being repulsed. The man who named Malala Yousafzai after this Jeanne d'Arc-like heroine is her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai. Malala means courage, he says in the film, and one can easily imagine that the name commits. Unless it even became a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. For the parallel between the legend and Malala's story is obvious – except that the modern Malala survived the shots that hit her. The struggle for education. As is known, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck on her way home from school in the Swat Valley in 2012. The reason was that she had blogged (originally anonymously) for the BBC and later spoke publicly to the Taliban regime that had recently taken control of the area, and who refused girls education. After treatment at a local hospital, at this time, the 15-year-old girl was sent to a Birmingham hospital for further treatment. In England, she and her family were also granted a residence permit, and they still live in the same city. The brutal incident made Malala world-renowned, as both a symbolic and real front figure in the fight for human rights in general and girls' right to education in particular. On his 16th birthday, July 12, 2013, a day that was baptized Malala Day, she spoke publicly for the first time since she was tried by the Taliban. The speech was to the UN at the organization's headquarters in New York, and the theme was again children's right to education. Malala has since continued to fight for fundamental rights, and has met many of the world's most powerful, including both Obama and Bono. In fact, she has even graced the cover of Time Magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people. She recently came second in the poll to become the same magazine Person of the Year, one year after she won the Peace Prize. Last year she also came with the book I Am Malala, written in collaboration with journalist Christina Lamb, and as the documentary He Named Me Malala partly based on. Normal teenager. But while the world-famous and obviously busy young woman is fighting for the right to education in a global perspective, Malala must also follow up her (basic) schooling. For despite all her extraordinary merits and mature considerations, she is also a more or less ordinary teenager. Some of the film makes a rather charming point out of it – when her brothers describe her as naughty, and when we see her search for pictures of athletes and movie stars she thinks are pretty. Besides, she is obviously her father's daughter. He Named Me Malala also draws a portrait of her father Ziauddin, a teacher and activist who has obviously given many of her values to the protagonist and whom she seems to be strongly associated with. Somewhat less prominent in the film is Malala's mother, who is one of the many women who have been denied basic education – but who also seems to have the courage of her opinion. Though hardly as great as her husband and daughter. Although she obviously has a lot to thank her father for, Malala emphasizes that he only gave her the name, he did not make her Malala. By this she means that the choices she has had have been her own. At the same time, I would assume that she has a certain device around her besides the family, but about this the film says little. Width rather than depth. Do we have her now? is probably a question you usually ask for these types of portraits. I must. Not that I suspect she has so much to hide, but the film could undoubtedly have come even closer to Malala both as a human being and as a phenomenon. For although the film paints an interesting portrait of her life up to the aforementioned Peace Prize Award, it is also an example of a film that, in its ambition to cover a lot, does not allow itself to penetrate so far into the depth. And, strictly speaking, it does not contain much you did not know about the main character from before. The film's strongest moments are in the archive clips it uses, such as when Malala stands out with her full name on television and criticizes unnamed Taliban leaders while she still lives in Pakistan. The film's strongest moments are in the archive clips it uses, such as when Malala stands out with her full name on television and criticizes unnamed Taliban leaders while she still lives in Pakistan. This says something that the filmmaker could have been more present at important moments in her life in recent times – and not least in the preparation of these moments, where one has the opportunity to get close to both person and motivation. Broadly landscaped. Director Davis Guggenheim also has previous experience with (future) peace prize winners throughout An unpleasant truth (2006), the documentary on Al Gore's campaign to raise awareness about global warming. Among his earlier documentaries we also find the rock guitarist meeting It Might Get Loud (2008) and Waiting for 'Superman', the latter about the American school system. Guggenheim is also an experienced television director, with episodes of fiction series such as NYPD Blue, ER, 24, The Shield og Deadwood on the resume. Now, there is not necessarily anything wrong with this, but it is also inconceivable that this experience has had something to say for the somewhat polished expression Guggenheim has given He Named Me Malala. Because although it is both well-crafted and well-portrayed, one would wish this movie had a bit more sting. Speaking enough, have He Named Me Malala movie music signed Hollywood veteran Thomas Newman, who also recently made the music for the James Bond movie Spectre and Spielberg's Bridge of Spies. Newman's emotionally controlling tones are not the only element of this film that testifies to the widest possible impact. The same applies to the director's prioritization of interviews rather than a more observant approach, as well as the aforementioned animation sequences. Now, of course, one can point out that it is positive that Malala, with her sympathetic message, is just reaching out to as many as possible. With its available form is He Named Me Malala not least well suited for school views, which I hope will be many. It is hardly necessary to recall that the extremist ideology that sought to silence Malala (and which, according to her, has nothing to do with Islam), has not become any less widespread or less threatening lately. With this, it has become even more important that she be heard – also by virtue of being a Muslim voice. On the other hand, such a polished and in some way American documentary could also reinforce the impression that Malala might have as a kind of brand. And for those evil tongues who regard her as a puppet created in the West's self-righteous and anti-Islamic image, Guggenheim's film will probably just pour more gasoline on the fire. He Named Me Malala premiered in Norway on December 11, and can be seen in cinemas across the country.
Huser is a film critic in Ny Tid. alexhuser@ gmail.com.
