By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Lindsay Utz | Michelle Walshe
Year: 2025
Running time: 101
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34965625
Diane says: :Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is on a book tour for her memoir -and- is hitting movie screens in a just-released doc. Much of PRIME MINISTER’s footage was shot by her partner Clarke, who couldn’t keep from documenting the private aspect of what it’s like to run a country.
“The editors also include Ardern in meetings, in Parliament, at public gatherings. A helpful resource was Ardern’s weekly (?) oral history interviews, which she is shown listening to and responding to as she works on her memoir. There is a considerable amount of material from the last couple of years, which she has spent in a sort of exile in Cambridge/Harvard.
“Her term of 2017-2023 was a hellish one, with one crisis after another. I think the film might not age well, only because context is played down to allow the focus on Ardern’s values, family life, and internal struggles.
“Highly recommended for fans of Ardern. It is invigorating to relive those days when she was on the world stage as the anti-Trump. 4 cats.”