The Island President

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Mar 12, 2016 The tiny island nation of Maldives is rapidly vanishing thanks to rising sea levels, and its leader-now ex-leader-Mohamed Nasheed is doing everything he can to coerce the world's superpowers to do something about it. That's the story behind Jon Shenk's documentary, The Island President. It's a David vs. Goliath tale of epic proportions and of colossal importance. But something gets lost in translation from the real world to the screen. There isn't a story out there more worthy of documentary treatment than The Island President; The mainstream press is much more interested in shit American politicians say than actual global crises. But Shenk manages to strip Nasheed's struggle to save his nation and its people of any and all cinematic qualities. There's no suspense, no real narrative arc, no character identification-nothing. One of the main problems is that the film is essentially a two-hour interview with one man, and no matter how noble he and his cause are, he remains a politician at heart. He's just a little too polished to come across as genuine, and maybe that's my predisposition to distrusting politicians creeping in, but if you compare this film to a documentary like Exit Through the Gift Shop (or even something minor like Morgan Spurlock's Comic-Con doc), there's very little that feels off-the-cuff. Though Nasheed is clearly speaking from the heart, his sense of urgency doesn't come through. You can't blame an interview subject for a bad interview, however. Shenk should have poked and prodded. In lieu of that, it's his job to punch the film up with some directorial flare, but everything in The Island President feels flat. It's a film that I suspected would be right up my alley. I'm a big politics buff, and the environment is probably the issue I feel most passionately about. But The Island President is a sleepy film that can't hide behind its earnestness for long. It wasn't but 30 minutes before I started checking my watch, and nothing that happened after that point stopped my slide toward dissatisfaction. http://www.johnlikesmovies.com/island-president/ See more bob s @RT56123406 Feb 27, 2016 Try telling this guy climate change isn't real! I dare you! Enlightening and depressing. See more Nov 25, 2015 I liked to see this documentary looking at one man trying to deliver on a promise to his people to others to care/change global policies that will help curtail global warming issues. Touching and tragic. See more May 26, 2015 We blame China for being the biggest contributeur of CO2, but why are they where they are today to begin with? There are some people whose lives are at stake because of our need of endless consumption. See more Jan 12, 2014 this man is very passionate about the climate change cause and you really want him to succede See more Nov 26, 2013 "An absorbing portrait of a man trying to turn a tide of indifference." Nasheed brought democracy to the Maldives for the first time in 2008. He made world headlines by having a meeting underwater and winning a symbolic political victory in Copenhagen. Before his term was up he was forced from office, now the dictator's party is back in power. "Shenk would have been better off spending time with the people at risk of flooding rather than filming the diplomats in their suits at the Copenhagen Climate Summit." See more Read all reviews

The Island President

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