The Island President

2012 "Can this man save the world?"
7.2| 1h41m| en
Details

Follows the globe-trotting journey of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the lowest-lying country in the world, who, after bringing democracy to his country, takes up the fight to keep it from disappearing under the sea.

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Samuel Goldwyn Films

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Reviews

Mjeteconer Just perfect...
Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
Larry Silverstein Upon viewing this film, I learned that the Maldives is a country consisting of 2,000 low-lying islands, right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It apparently has the lowest high point of any country in the world.This compelling and important documentary, directed by Jon Shenk, centers on the remarkable efforts of the former President Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed to save his country from what he believed to be the great peril of rising temperatures and sea levels, caused by global warming.Nasheed's story itself is amazing. Under the 30 year dictatorship of Maumoon Abdul Gayoon, Nasheed was arrested 12 times for political activism, tortured twice, and thrown into solitary confinement, in a small box, for 18 months. In April of 2005, he returned to the Maldives after his self-exile and somehow managed to oust Gayoon in an election in 2008.From that point on, he tried to bring world attention to his country, citing that it could be destroyed by rising sea levels. He cited serious erosion of the beaches, fresh water contamination by the sea, serious fish depletion, and the increased risk of natural disasters, such as the tsunami of 2004 that reduced the GDP in the Maldives by 50%.Leading up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit, of 2009, he traveled to speak to the British Parliament, the UN General Assembly, and any other meeting with world leaders he could schedule. I thought the documentary was particularly effective in giving the viewer a behind-the-scenes look at the negotiations that went on not only with world leaders but with his own advisers and Cabinet.Nasheed developed a reputation as being a driving force to have world leaders agree to a cut in CO2 emissions. Some were calling him the new Global President. To me he came across as driven, motivated, sometimes sarcastic, and a little naive.When he reached the Copenhagen Summit, where 192 countries were represented, he quickly realized that some of the major world powers, especially China were strongly opposed to any monitored CO2 emission reductions. They felt, as a new industrialized power, they would hurt their economy substantially by doing this. It was interesting to me to see the last minute wrangling at the Summit to get some type of agreement, by the political power brokers.A note at the end of the movie, indicated that in 2012 security forces forced Nasheed to resign. Looking at various new reports it now seems to be a muddled picture politically in the Maldives.Overall, I learned quite a bit from the film and felt the way it was presented was quite engrossing.
Princess Lamha Fathina This is movie is a PR effort helping him to win Nobel Peace Prize. He was ousted by his own people in 3 years like Hosni Mubarak and Gazzafi.His total presidency was a drama filled lies and lies. I am sure we westerners are more civilized than a third world countries. I doubt any ethical person will buy a ticket for this movie when this movie was funded secretly from tax payers money. Maldives is a very small country with limited resources and its ousted president want to become a Hollywood celebrity. I see no difference than the Saudi Royal Family and Him.No offense to his loyal supporters.
darren-511 I'm giving this film a 2 because of the cinematography, otherwise I would look for something below 1. Had the director chosen to make a film about a man gone made then that might have been interesting but this dribble is just another propaganda film for the environmental movement. What cracks me up is the scary acknowledgment that the main island has lost 5 meters of beach front and that Manhattan Island is also at the same depth. Here's an inconvenient truth for you- ALL ISLANDS ARE AT SEA LEVEL! Here's another painful fact that might present an obstacle to thinking people; sometimes beaches erode because of waves and their lack of protection from the elements. Sometimes the plates of the earth sift and islands sink and sometimes volcanoes erupt under the sea and islands rise. I love the passion of President Nasheed but it's passion misplaced. Passion for passion sake is not admirable, maybe for a kid but not a grown man. I'm done with these types of propaganda films and you should be too.
coolscale The Documentary was very well directed and presented. It portrays the important events that took place in Mohamed Nasheed's life as a child and as a politician, and his 'sudden' movement towards environment. It would made us think the how vulnerable the Maldivian life actually is!The Island President is hardly a PowerPoint presentation on the subject of environmental responsibility. That's already been done well enough. Instead, This Documentary tackles the message from a compelling human- interest angle -- by focusing on the messenger.It was far more entertaining and less didactic than An Inconvenient Truth, with beautiful scenery of Indian Ocean captured with bird-view camera angles both in stills and amazing time-lapses. A must watch for all environment lovers.