On Her Shoulders

Director Alexandria Bombach (Frame by Frame) shot this documentary portrait of human rights activist Nadia Murad not long before her subject received the Nobel Peace Prize, and the movie argues persuasively that the prize was well deserved.

Be ready for tears, on screen and your own.

On Her Shoulders is a compassionate, level-headed portrait of a remarkable woman. What it lacks in filmmaking fireworks, it makes up for in the sheer magnetism and moxie of its hero.

Nadia is shown always surrounded by crowds, almost crushed by them. But her utter loneliness is heartbreaking.

On Her Shoulders is close to being awful.

It would almost be absurd if it weren't so deadly serious.

At its most emotionally impactful when Bombach simply plays observer to everything that's unfolding.

Bombach's film, and Nadia's willingness to participate in it, reminds us that what happens a world away is happening to us, to all of us as humankind.

lexandria Bombach won a directing prize at Sundance for this portrait of Murad, but On Her Shoulders might just as well have been made by Murad's publicist.

The film takes an intimate approach to its subject, who occasionally speaks directly to the camera. These moments can be revelatory.