Filmmaker Richard E. Robbins' documentary focuses on the importance of education for young women in the developing world. Introduced by Liam Neeson, Girl Rising is divided into nine sections, with each pairing a different writer with a girl to help tell her story using dramatic re-enactments. Seven-year-old Wadley from Port au Prince was enjoying a normal weekday when an earthquake devastated Haiti. While she and her mother are stuck in a tent city, Wadley is unable to attend school due to a lack of funds, and must find a way to continue her education (this segment is written by Edwidge Danticat, whose acclaimed novel Claire of the Sea Light centers on a 7-year-old Haitian girl). Suma, who lives in Nepal, must forgo school because of work commitments. Her life of servitude finally ends when she meets a schoolmaster who takes her under his wing. The weakest segment concerns Yasmin, an Egyptian girl who critically injures an attacker—an act that involves more courage than education (she was also lucky to be able to overpower a fully-grown adult). Other stories, which hail from Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Peru, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone, concern homelessness and arranged marriage. When the subjects or their onscreen surrogates aren't speaking in their native language, actresses and musicians provide voiceover, including Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Alicia Keys. This is only partially effective since they are speaking for those who can speak for themselves, although Anne Hathaway's voicing of an 11-year-old Afghanistan wife's frustration is particularly effective. A powerful documentary, overall, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Girl Rising
Cinedigm, 103 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.95, Mar. 4 Volume 29, Issue 2
Girl Rising
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