Girl Rising

The team of journalists and executives who hired white, American, male director Richard Robbins to make this film get props for taking on a good cause. But their noble goal doesn't justify the means.

The price of good intentions is that it looks and feels like an extended public-service announcement for goodness.

No one would confuse the movie with a short-story collection. But it's more ambitious and effective at blunting cynicism than most consciousness-raising efforts.

'Advocacy Cinema' has found a new, strong standard-bearer in Girl Rising; one hopes it drives the forceful change needed in our global community as powerfully as it represents a creative shift in the genre.