72
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Total FilmTotal FilmNasheed may be a small fish in a big geopolitical pond, but his enterprise and optimism are a welcome complement to eco doc doom and gloom.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawCould Nasheed be the political Prospero to save the island – and the planet? Well, now he is out of power, and the Copenhagen summit was a disappointment. Perhaps his advocacy will help to bring the climate change issue back into political fashion.
- 80EmpirePatrick PetersEmpirePatrick PetersA fascinating insight into the disparity between rich and poor, and powerful nations and their less muscle-flexing neighbours. And, unless you're a fish, it's also pretty darn scary.
- 75Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSlant MagazineAndrew SchenkerThe film successfully positions its point of view with the developing countries that suffer the most immediate consequences of global warming rather than the developed countries most responsible for climate change and from whose citizenry Jon Shenk's prospective audience is likely to be drawn.
- 70The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe hope that infuses this movie makes it all the more upsetting to walk out of the theater and contemplate a looming disaster that the world's leaders seem unable to prevent.
- 70Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJon Shenk's fascinating documentary feature The Island President personalizes the threat of global warming, and nationalizes it too, by focusing on Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe first half hour shows a dynamic politician who gets things done; the last hour shows him ground to dust by diplomats.
- 60Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichIt's fascinating to be so close to a then-sitting head of state as he negotiates for his homeland's survival, and the news that Nasheed was recently deposed in a coup by Gayoom loyalists makes the hard-won victories he did secure all the more poignant.
- 60Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonThe Island President also shows how the most high-minded idealists inevitably become deal-makers: The toothless agreement eventually ratified in Copenhagen - which calls for but doesn't require CO2 reductions - is lauded by Nasheed as "a very good, planet-saving document."