The President's Cake

2025

Drama

Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 99% · 74 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 99%
IMDb Rating 7.7/10 10 1568 1.6K

dictatorship birthday cake police arrest counterfeit money thoughtful 1990s

Plot summary

In 1990s Iraq, it's 'draw day', when schools select students for the honour of bringing items to their mandatory local celebrations of President Saddam Hussein's birthday. Nine-year-old Lamia lives in the historic marshes with her spirited grandmother, Bibi. Before school, Bibi teaches Lamia clever tricks to avoid being chosen for the baking duties. However, when Musa, the authoritative teacher, calls Lamia's name for the most challenging task–the birthday cake–she has no choice but to accept. Refusing could mean imprisonment or even death.

Director

Hasan Hadi Photo
Hasan Hadi

Top cast

Saddam Hussein Photo
Saddam Hussein as Self - Celebrating his fiftieth birthday
Baneen Ahmad Nayyef Photo
Baneen Ahmad Nayyef as Lamia
Waheed Thabet Khreibat Photo
Waheed Thabet Khreibat as Bibi
Sajad Mohamad Qasem Photo
Sajad Mohamad Qasem as Saeed
720p.WEB
971.29 MB
1280*542
English 2.0
PG-13
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 45 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by 8 / 10

A rooster goes to the City

There is a lot to like about this movie not least the combination of resilience and vulnerability in the lead character Lamia and the warmth and durability of her friendships, human and non-human. The film deserves the George Orwell award for an unvarnished portrayal of the effects of poverty and corruption in a personality cult-based authoritarian state under additional duress from an external aggressor. I loved the setting in the Iraqi marshes and the NatGeo-esque insight into the lives of those who live there. Plus if you like mustaches and uniforms you're in for a treat. Best performance was the girl playing Lamia who is an amazing talent. Worst performance was Saddam (as himself) who was strangely unconvincing. No roosters were harmed in the making of this film. The location of weapons of mass destruction remains a mystery to this day.
Reviewed by 9 / 10

It will make you smile despite its outward toughness

"The president's cake" portrays the two-day odyssey of school girl Lamia, with the help of her friend Saeed, to obtain the ingredients needed to cook a cake in celebration of the birthday of the president (Saddam Hussein). The action takes place in Iraq on the occasion of the anniversary festivities in the nineties, and the cake has been ordered by Lamia's school teacher. There is animation in the streets, with bands and military marches, but war signs lurk and poverty is visible everywhere. The plot is (perhaps unexpectedly) imaginative, plausible, and well fed with human tenderness with its sad and comical moments. In a natural way, the action displays the corruption that permeates iraqian society in all instances. However in no way the film intends to be a pamphlet, or shows any signs of activism. This is simply an enjoyable, well crafted piece of cinema. It is a work of art, and one of the best movies I have seen in the last year.
Reviewed by 8 / 10

The President's Cake

It's 1990 and Iraq, under the iron fist of Saddam Hussein, is suffering under sanctions. Extreme poverty is on the rise; there are shortages of medicine and food. Despite the circumstances, it's still required that all Iraqis celebrate the president's birthday, or face the consequences. An unlucky classroom draw finds nine-year-old Lamia given the unenviable task of baking the birthday cake for her class. Accompanied by grandmother, Lamia departs her home in the marshes for the big city, to procure the ingredients for the dreaded cake - a task that takes on unexpectedly grave importance. Beautifully shot and acted, and with a keen sense of time and place The President's Cake makes for an exhilarating adventure.
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