Movie Review: “A Powerful Noise”

2008, Sheila C. Johnson
Not Rated, 81 minutes

Reviewed by Amiah Taylor, 15
Pennsylvania

A Powerful Noise is a riveting documentary. For all the movies that are so singular in their genres—horror or romance, etc.—A Powerful Noise is as diverse as life itself. If I could describe it in one word, it would be “relevant,” as in related to what’s going on in the world today. I learned so much about both the state of the world, in particular, girls and women. For example, did you know that women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, yet earn only 10 percent of the income? Similarly, women produce half the world’s food, yet own only 1 percent of its land. Did you know that more than 80% of Malians are illiterate and it's one of the three poorest countries in the world? Or that there’s an epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam because of a rise in intravenous drug use? And that with the domino effect, the common practice of sharing needles is becoming an increasing high-risk activity? How about that in Bosnia and neighboring countries, women are unemployed and having a hard time going back to their war-ravaged communities? And these same women are feeling pressure to conform to a society ruled by ethnic and economic division.

But what I love about this documentary is that in the film, you follow three women in countries with significant problems and they all have their struggles. But overall, there is a message of hope. You see hope at the Raspberry Days Festival in Bosnia, where the women just want to welcome as many people as they can and demonstrate the beauty of life and their country. And Mui By Hanh had the strength, even with the challenges of being widowed and losing a child, to continue a healthy life trying to spread awareness and preventive measures to stop the rampant HIV spread in Vietnam. Likewise, the message that Madame Urbain was trying to deliver to school children about the idea of emancipating girls through education and literacy was uplifting.

Overall, though the film doesn’t have major eye-candy actors or millions of dollars in explosions, and why would it…it’s a documentary! I strongly recommend it regardless; it’s worth watching because it is eye opening and gives you a sense of what’s going on right now, internationally. Fans of Eat, Pray, Love put this on your list. A Powerful Noise is a great film about the empowerment of women and how they’re gaining a voice in society and how their hard work is reengineering society everywhere.

For more information, see:  www.apowerfulnoise.org

Note that the film can be viewed from the website.