Review: Timely ‘President’ maps a fallen leader’s journey after a bloody coup

Although Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf says “The President” was inspired by the turbulent events of the Arab Spring, there’s also a timeless quality to this absorbing and powerful fable that provides added resonance.

Makhmalbaf (“Kandahar”), who directed and co-wrote with Marziyeh Meshkiny, vividly tracks the fallout for the dictatorial president (Misha Gomiashvili) of “an unknown country” after he’s overthrown in a violent coup.

Unable to flee his embattled land by plane, the president is forced to go on the run with his 5-year-old grandson (Dachi Orvelashvili). The pair, traveling in disguise as street musicians, must traverse an austere and dangerous landscape as they journey to the coast, where safe transport supposedly awaits.

En route, the president encounters — and must now count on — the angry, disenfranchised populace his brutal reign created. It’s fascinating to watch the iron-fisted leader witness, sans the safety of his ivory tower, the ground-level disassembling of an entire society. Scenes involving an overworked prostitute, a violated bride and a forgotten political prisoner are among the film’s most harrowing and memorable moments.

Gomiashvili is effective as the desperate despot, though more specific sociopolitical context may have given his character dimensions. Young Orvelashvili, however, with his haunted angel face and game curiosity, is a revelation. Evocative cinematography by Konstantin Mindia Esadze is another plus.

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“The President”

In Georgian with English subtitles.

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 59 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills.