Girl Rising

I'm a guy and I pretty much never cry, but some of these stories made me cry. Not that that makes it a great film, but rather it is the content.

This film tells such wonderful stories in so many different ways. Great stories, great narration great visuals and soundtrack.

The stories show the horrendous things that women have to endure in developing countries and makes me really mad about how much energy we waste on frivolous issues in the developed world.

It really hammers home the point that investment into the education of young women in developing countries is one of the single best social investment we can make into a country.

A documentary that tells the stories of nine girls from different third world countries who by education seek to break the clutches of arranged marriages, slavery, forced labor and the like. The message of the film is strong, but the film itself does not have the quality and strength that such a theme deserves and which such a message needs to bear fruit.

7/10

The thesis of this documentary is that the solution for the more than six million women in third world countries and otherwise impoverished regions who are oppressed, abused and violated is education. This documentary follows the story of seven women from Sierra Leone, India, Afghanistan, Haiti, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Nepal and Egypt. It shows how each of these women bettered themselves and their lives through education, albeit gaining such an education was an extreme struggle.

I have nothing against the message of the documentary. It has started a "girl rising" movement for global education of women, and that's fantastic. I just didn't find the documentary itself very entertaining. They tried to use a variety of cinematographic techniques, but it simply failed to entertain me. It is worth watching for the eye-opening statistics, but you may feel like your history teacher didn't feel like teaching today and popped in a video.

Girl Rising (2013) is a documentary directed by Richard Robbins. The movie is linked to an organization, also called Girl Rising, which works to improve the lives of young women around the world who are victims of forced marriages. Often these women are sold by their parents to much older men. Many of these "marriages" are really a form of sexual slavery.

Many of the young women and their families appear in their own stories. Voice-over narration is provided by major stars: Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Selma Hayek, Liam Neeson, Meryl Streep, and Kerry Washington.

The plight of these young women is terrible, and any steps that can improve social conditions for them are worth supporting. However, as a movie, I thought that Girl Rising didn't completely work. It wasn't a stand-alone film. It made sense only with the understanding that it was aimed at pulling people into a support role for the sponsoring organization.

On the other hand, to my surprise, the sponsoring organization didn't make a very strong push for support from the audience. So, I left the theater with the thought that life is really, really hard for women in many countries. That's a point worth making, but then what?

We saw the movie in a theater, but it will work well on DVD.

I recently had the privilege of seeing Girl Rising, 10x10's gripping documentary about nine girls from around the world, and why educating them—and every girl—is vitally important to our future.

Each of these amazing, resilient girls comes from one of nine countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Peru and Sierra Leone. They all have incredible stories to tell, each with unimaginable hardships, but also with hope.

Girl Rising features a beautiful mix of live-action, animation and narration, of reenactments and reimaginings, as well as real-life footage. It's stunningly made, with fabulous cinematography, impeccable writing, and a unique approach to each story—fitting for nine unique and utterly captivating girls.

The film is also fair. It gives the girls a voice, which sadly has a lot to say about abuse at the hands of men, and being subordinated by both men and women. But it makes an effort to show positive male figures, like protective brothers and nurturing fathers.

Interestingly, the film is directed by Richard Robbins and its central narrator is Liam Neeson. To me, involving these men shows solidarity and an emphasis on healing the world together.

But that's not to say the male voices overpower the female in Girl Rising. Women leave a lasting mark all over the film, from the producers to the writers to the rest of the narrators, who are all female and include the likes of Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keyes and Meryl Streep.

See Girl Rising and I believe you'll be deeply moved. The girls' stories are sometimes painful, but always lead to powerful, triumphant endings. And between each one, you'll discover overwhelming facts about the benefits of educating girls—benefits for them, their countries and the entire world.

I'm not sure when/if the film will get a wider release, but for now, you can visit GirlRising.com to arrange a screening, get more information and, of course, donate to one of the most important causes.