The President

2014

1h 58m

Comedy

Drama

List

84%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

A brutal dictator comes face to face with the injustices committed by his regime when his country is taken over by revolutionists.

Steve Greene

indieWire

Even though The President lacks some of the subtlety that made Makhmalbaf's previous work transcendent, this film is still a worthy testament to a fiery storyteller determined to use the medium as a necessary means of subversion.

Rated: B+

Jan 1, 2017

Full Review

Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

Although Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf says "The President" was inspired by the turbulent events of the Arab Spring, there's also a timeless quality to this absorbing and powerful fable that provides added resonance.

Jul 21, 2016

Full Review

Michael Nordine

Village Voice

Makhmalbaf makes you feel the enormity of the President's loss of self even if you don't actually feel for him.

Jul 21, 2016

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Plays like an obvious sermon about authoritarianism and the bitter fallacy of revenge.

Rated: 2.5/5

Sep 5, 2019

Full Review

Camilla Long

Sunday Times (UK)

If you want to know how Saddam Hussein went from a golden palace to a dirty hole, how Colonel Gaddafi might have looked at his death, give it a go.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 1, 2019

Full Review

Armond White

National Review

Its story of a despot (Mikheil Gomiashvili)...who escapes his country's...capital city...with his cosseted grandson (Dachi Orvelashvili) in tow...looks at brotherhood by satirizing the highhanded excesses of nationhood.

Jun 16, 2016

Full Review

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thomas a

Funny and poignant theme, but the way the script writer(s) refused to name the country where this occurred was very annoying to me. I know this is fictitious story, but due to the fact that I majored in International Studies, I don't like the "real-life feeling" of the story without having a real-life country for my mind to grasp.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent. Very timely, given the election in the US. It's not easy being human.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

About as perfect - writing, acting, directing - as it gets. Even the 2 big scenes which are not shown on the screen, will form & stick in your your memory like a bur.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great movie - powerful and moving. The kid is fantastic. Beautifully shot, stunning locations. A fantastic movie by the Iranian master, MAKHMALBAF.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent performance from the young grandson in a whirlwind journey of being on the run and lightly addressing the morality of dictatorship and humanity. Very well made film but leave some things unfulfilled.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A deposed dictator and his grandson on the run after a revolution. He gradually begins to understand some of the effect his rule has had on the people as reflected in the fairy tale he tells his grandson as they try to fall asleep in a barn: "Once upon a time, there was a President who had a very bad temper. One day the President's family went to the airport. They had to fly far, far away. The President's grandson didn't want to go with his family so he stayed with his grandfather." That's about as far as he got before the grandson declared that he doesn't like that story. The movie becomes rather didactic at the end, undermining the potential of the movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

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Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Director

Mikheil Gomiashvili

Misha Gomiashvili

Dachi Orvelashvili

Grandson

Tornike Bziava

The Soldier

Iamze Sukhitashvili

Actor

Zura Begalishvili

Actor

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The Caiman

Len and Company

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33%

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Synopsis

A brutal dictator comes face to face with the injustices committed by his regime when his country is taken over by revolutionists.

Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Producer: Mike Downey, David Grumbach, Vladimer Katcharava, Sam Taylor
Screenwriter: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Marziyeh Meshkiny
Production Co: Film and Music Entertainment, 20 Steps Productions, Creativity Capital, Bac Films, Makhmalbaf Film House
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Georgian
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 58m

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