The Island President (2012)
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 45 | Rotten: 1
An eye-opening and appealing documentary about an earnest politician up against the closed door drama of climate change.
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 0
An eye-opening and appealing documentary about an earnest politician up against the closed door drama of climate change.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 3,375
Movie Info
The Island President is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced - the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make
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President Mohamed Nasheed
President Mohamed Nashe...
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All Critics (47) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (1)
The Island President is an important portrait of a determined man standing fast in a place where the ground is literally shifting beneath his feet.
Top CriticClimate-change documentaries are almost always disturbing, but "The Island President" communicates a special urgency.
[An] engaging, gorgeously photographed documentary.
Nasheed is indeed inspirational, a cool-headed but passionate and courageous guy. You end up wishing a lot more leaders were like this guy.
Shenk expertly weaves Nasheed's extraordinary personal story together with the Maldives' breathtaking natural beauty and a Capra-esque tale of dogged idealism and political courage to create wonderfully vivid cinematic portraiture.
What makes Nasheed's whirligig tactics so urgent is that, unlike most other countries participating in the summit, his own nation is actually in danger of being annihilated by climate change.
One only hopes that the documentary will help advance Nasheed's mission and inspire others to join arms out of shared ecological concern.
A fascinating look at an extraordinary personality.
The haunting "How to Disappear Completely" plays over the closing credits. If Nasheed isn't able to wake up the world to his country's plight, in a few decades, that could be the new Maldives national anthem.
If you are in a fight, you want this man on your side. He is charismatic, brave and most of all entirely believes in what he is what he is doing. I'm not sure he know the meaning of the word compromise.
As an insight into the cynical nature of world politics, The Island President is wonky but fascinating stuff ... But as a testament to mankind's willingness to change... it's deeply dispiriting.
The film clearly sides with Nasheed's David as he battles Goliath-like businesses and governments, but it never loses sight of the fact that his efforts to preserve the fragile beauty of the sinking Maldives may already be doomed.
Shenk's tight storytelling makes for a gripping film that delivers the ugly, at times ennobling, truth.
A socially engaged documentary with more heart than head, this slice of boosterism focusing on the exiled Maldives president achieves unexpected ancillary connection as a ground-floor look at a grand clash of political and governmental wills.
An absorbing portrait of a man trying to turn a tide of indifference.
Primary meets environmental documentary. A must-see now that political strife has forced the film's subject, President Mohamed Nasheed, to resign.
Nasheed is a fascinating man with grand ideas that stand in direct contrast to his appearance.
Shenk gets almost unfettered acccess to Nasheed, who is refreshingly honest about the tactics he is employing to get other countries onside
It's a gut punch to every single person who has come to the wholly depressing conclusion that the world our grandparents enjoyed may not exist for our children.
Audience Reviews for The Island President
Super Reviewer
He succeeded in getting all the big countries to sign a worldwide agreement, despite the fact that little could be seen in those countries' actions. This achievement alone makes President Nasheed deserve a standing ovation for what he has done, not just his country, but also for our planet.
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- President Mohamed Nasheed: There is absolutely no scientific debate remaining. Climate change is happening now.
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- President Mohamed Nasheed: I live in the Florida Keys...water hasn't risen a 1/4" in 10+ years since all this BS started.
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- President Mohamed Nasheed: We continue to shout even though we know that your not really listening.
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- President Mohamed Nasheed: If we do not act now my island nation will be submerged by the sea.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| What will he do? | 6 months ago | 1 |
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Movie: ID: 771253571 Title: The Island President Release Date: 2012-03-28 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 2 Status: 1
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So, through this example, we get a disturbing look at what all of our futures may be like if we do not change our ways very soon.(With the use of some great shots, the Maldvies do seem like something out of speculative fiction.) If our behavior affects all others across the globe, then why can't the butterfly flap its wings in the opposite direction, which is where Nasheed comes in, not only in speaking across the world(I'm not recommending invoking World War II usually in speehces, but if you have to, mention Czechoslovakia), but also in proposing to make his country entirely carbon neutral in 10 years by relying on renewable energy sources like solar and wind, making the Maldives an example for the rest of the world. This is harder than it sounds with the economic interests of countries like China and India making things especially difficult with a memorable climax at the climate conference at Copenhagen in 2009. But sadly, Nasheed did not have that much time as he was ousted in a threatened coup in February of this year.