On Her Shoulders (2018) User Reviews

A difficult, uncomfortable, but important film for all

[d4nyll · 8/10 · 16 January 2019]

Tonight I went to the Curzon Bloomsbury to watch 'On Her Shoulders', a documentary that follows the journey of Nadia Murad, a survivor of the 2014 Yazidi genocide, activist, and the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2018.

It's a film that I recommend you all to watch.

'On Her Shoulders' is the story about the interplay between desperation and determination. It is the story of Nadia's quiet but persistent fight for the recognition of, and justice for, herself, her family, and the Yazidis people. It's the story of a reluctant leader, who chose to shoulder this unyielding burden, to stand as a symbol of hope, when many others have abandoned theirs.

Before I watched this film, I knew a little about the Yazidis, I knew that genocides are happening around the world, even at this very moment. There's the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and the genocide in South Sudan is still ongoing. I knew all that. But these issues are always placed on the back of my mind. After all, talking and thinking about refugees, death, enslavement, and rape are very heavy and uncomfortable topics. And we tend to shy away from difficult and uncomfortable things.

Nadia's story comes from a very different (and more difficult) part of the world than we're accustomed to; and initially, it can seem very detached from our everyday lives. But by attending the screening, it forced me to confront this uncomfortable reality, and realise that someone else's reality is actually our collective reality.

The cinematography, film score and editing of the film were OK, nothing spectacular. I believe the director (Alexandria Bombach) purposefully striped everything back to not take anything away from the story. This would explain the 7.1/10 score (good, but not great) it currently has on IMDb. But you should watch it not because of how it's directed/edited, but because of the importance of the story. It's an invitation for you to spend 95 minutes to walk in her shoes and understand their struggle.

It'll help you to be more empathetic, to see everything in a broader perspective, and perhaps even inspire you to act.

Disappointing Film about a Heroic Champion for her People

[JustCuriosity · 6/10 · 14 March 2018]

On Her Shoulders was received with some trepidation at Austin SXSW Film Festival. The fight for recognition of the genocide committed against the Yazidi people in Iraq by ISIS is an important one that deserves recognition. Unfortunately, this film is so muddled that it does a poor job in the effort. The film focuses on the personal struggle and harrowing tale of 23-year-old Nadia Murad to win recognition of the horrors that her people have undergone in the last few years. The film transforms the struggle to one person's personal journey rather than focusing on the tragedy of an entire people. In so doing, it confuses as much as it informs. The questions at the showing were telling. Audience members asked about the history of the Yazidis which is not explained. The film provides little political context on the Yazidis, Iraq or ISIS leaving viewers with little understanding of the underlying issues. The film focused on the footage of Nadia's travels in Canada, Germany and Greece which contained a lot of poorly edited and irrelevant material. Even the title is problematic since it tries to present a people's struggle as dependent on a single young woman who the producer acknowledged was thrust into this role by accident when asked about it. The struggle doesn't depend on Nadia and the film's focus on her rather than on those who care about the Yazidis around the world does a disservice to their cause. The film concludes with Nadia's appointment as UN Goodwill Ambassador for Human Trafficking. The position is almost irrelevant and does little for the Yazidi cause. This film is a well-intentioned misfire. The Yazidis deserve a better profile of their cause and more direction on how others can help them move forward.

The Point was well made - in less than an hour

[steve-lucas63 · 6/10 · 2 November 2020]

As other reviewers have said, this is about a remarkable woman. The horrid truth is revealed well within the first hour. So I found myself wondering if this could have been more effective as a 1 hour documentary.

What an extraordinary and inspirational young woman!

[richard-1967 · 9/10 · 4 August 2018]

We saw this documentary at a recent film festival. It's the story of a young woman named Nadia Murad, who became the symbol of the enslaved Yazidi people of northwestern Iraq. Nadia was able to escape her enslavement but then completely dedicated her life to publicize and try to end the catastrophe that had befallen the Yazidi people.

The film is a "9" but Nadia is definitely a "10+). Anyone who sees this film will be impressed and moved by her perseverance in the face of tragedy, her strength and her courage. Also compelling are those who assist her in her efforts.

The film does not entirely succeed in putting that Yazidi tragedy in context, and does little to explain the unusual history and religious background of the Yazidi people. But this movie is about Nadia and those who help her. And to this extent, by choosing an exemplary person to focus on, the filmmakers have made a fine film very much worth seeing.

This is a film that we all need to see.

[fernandojpolanco · 10/10 · 12 November 2018]

I strongly disagree with the review by "JustCuriosity", in fact--and with an abundant amount of concrete evidence--I believe this film depicts Nadia, the Yazidis immense struggle and how the international community failed the Yazidis very accurately. This film corroborates so much of what the global community and news media has already shared with the public, and shows the watching audience a side that was completely missed by them as well. The "JustCuriosity" reviewer missed the point of this film and didn't understand the undertones in which it conveyed to the audience: I do not want to spoil it for anyone but this isn't a fictional story so it's quite simply to research this topic before watching the film to get a picture of what is happening (and what happened) with the Yazidis genocide. Instead of listing all the evidence for this film's precise depiction I suggest you go and watch it and see for yourself. This is the best documentary I have ever seen. Period.

Powerful & Important

[leanne-97 · 9/10 · 9 December 2018]

By concentrating on the individual we come to understand the many. This beautifully crafted film allows us to learn about the Yazidi genocide while we get to know and admire one of its survivors. The strength of Nadia Murad transcends the horrors perpetrated against the Yazidi and in doing so gives them a much needed victory. The filmmakers clearly had Nadia's trust, they didn't waste the opportunity she gave them. This is a powerful and important film about an inspirational young woman.

A Difficult Journey

[westsideschl · 9/10 · 23 April 2019]

Update 4/23/19): The U.S. (i.e.Trump & naturally joined by Russia, China) threatened to veto a strong UN Security resolution (Nadia spoke in favor of original) providing health & monitoring services on sexual violence acts (e.g. rape) during conflict/war resulting in a weaker watered down version passing.

ISIL or ISIS forces called for the destruction of the entire Yazidi people. Nadia Murad Basee Taha (Like Malala Yousafzai 2014, Nadia is a Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient 2018) witnessed long bearded men, dressed in black, carrying weapons attack her village Kocho (Sinjar District); watched as they took children from their mothers; young girls being raped. Then killing the men, the elderly women as well as most of her family; making her a sex slave (Note: Estimated over 5000 women & female children taken by ISIS - saying Islamic law justifies the revival (of) slavery before the Hour (of Judgement Day). ISIS targeted the Yazidis (Yezidis) because of some shared beliefs with Zoroastrianism and other non-Islamic religions. Nadia, who once just wanted to go to school; do the family farming chores; raise sheep, after escaping in 2014 is now a spokesperson seeking to help Yazidis still scattered throughout the world in refugee camps, and to recover their historic homeland (Note: Like the Kurds they face resistance from Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq religious & political interests as each seeks to repress minority populations.) Nadia to world leaders: "You are the ones who can bring hope or create suffering. You are the ones who decide if a girl like me from another part of the world can continue her simple life ... if beheadings, taking women as sex slaves, raping children do not move you - when will you move?"

It's impossible not to be a better person after watching this film

[shaunhk · 10/10 · 27 January 2019]

I think the director was right not to focus on the Yazidi people's history because this wasn't about ethnographic origins so much as it was about a personal tragedy and a people's tragedy and the inability of the developed world to respond to that.

To say "it's a triumph of a film" is a cliche. But it is a triumph. The triumph is Nadia's and it's a triumph of the human spirit. I couldn't imagine someone experiencing what she has and remaining so unbroken. But she has. The film lets her tell the story and handles her pain with sensitivity. That's enough to make it an incredibly important documentary.

Anyway I'm doing it a disservice with my words and there aren't any. Long live the Yazidi people. And long live Nadia.

India, Israel should help Yazidis

[TheNonSmoker · 1/10 · 27 January 2022]

I've known one Yazidi for a long time, and I think their Yazidi religion/culture is very much similar to Hinduism, India should help these Yazidis and settle them in India. 🙏 Similarities in a sense:

1. Yazidis worship God 'Melek Tawwus' (In Hinduism known as 'Kartikeya', Peacock symbols both have) 2. April 14 Yazidi New Year (Hindu New Year also) 3. They made a mouth sound in their celebration (In Hinduism known as 'Ululudhvani, Ululation') 4. Yazidis have a symbol similar to Bindi or Tilak during temple prayer, very similar to Hindu forehead custom.

5. Does fire ritual (Very common in Hinduism and core of Zoroastrianism) 6. Yazidis do not circumcise, a very rare thing in the Arab culture (Hindus also do not circumcise).

7. Prays with folded hands (Just like the Hindus).

8. Believe in a recurring birth and death cycle (Dharmic philosophy of 'punar janam' or reincarnation) 9. The oil lamps called 'Sanjakas' that the Yezidis use are very similar to 'Arti' used in the Hindu culture for worship.

10. The Yazidi temple shrines or 'Lalish' are of pyramid structure, which are quite similar to Hindu Temple architecture.

11. Yazidis pray at sun rise and sun set, just like Hindus. Both face the rising or setting sun when praying to sun.

And these are just a few similarities, I'm pretty sure there are many more, we just need to re-establish the broken links, I believe Yazidis were once linked with Hindus of the Indian peninsula but got separated because of natural calamities and Islamic Invasions and Influence.

13 minutes in and still no translation of what Nadia is saying.

[blkruse · 1/10 · 26 October 2019]

Incredible opportunity missed. The subtitles only showed English to English. I was watching the documentary to hear Nadia's story. What on earth were the producers thinking.