67
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The Film StageThe Film StageAt times it may be difficult to watch, and the plot does feel episodic, but it remains powerful, challenging filmmaking.
- 83Portland OregonianMarc MohanPortland OregonianMarc MohanInspired by uprisings in the former Soviet bloc as well as, more pointedly, the Arab Spring, Makhmalbaf serves up a surprisingly tense, sometimes poignant parable. It's good to have him back.
- 83IndieWireSteve GreeneIndieWireSteve GreeneEven 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.
- 80CineVueJohn BleasdaleCineVueJohn BleasdaleThe President has an urgent relevance to all too many countries around the world, including those touched by the Arab Spring; a darkly comic and poignant portrait of an Ozymandian fall from grace and the subsequent damage that ensues.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThe President is a striking movie - and a bold and challenging change of directorial pace from Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
- 70The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (“A Moment of Innocence,” “Kandahar”) is not known for his kineticism, but The President — which he has suggested is his comment on the Arab Spring — has surprising urgency and sweep.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungAll this is portrayed in such elementary terms it could be the libretto of a 19th century operetta, or maybe a children’s film, were it not so disturbing.
- 60Time Out LondonCath ClarkeTime Out LondonCath ClarkeMakhmalbaf says he was inspired by the Arab Spring, and his film is pitched somewhere between allegory and satire.
- 60Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineMakhmalbaf makes you feel the enormity of the president's loss of self even if you don't actually feel for him.
- 50VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergAn allegorical lesson about dictatorships and the cycle of violence they breed, Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President unfortunately offers a simplified and simplistic reduction, akin to an ancient morality tale without the ancients’ brevity – rather than sophistication cloaked in innocence, the pic feels like didacticism submerged in naivete.