Baneen Ahmad Nayyef plays Lamia, an Iraqi girl who faces a daunting task in The President’s Cake.
Five films have received Oscar noms in the international category, including the French-sponsored Iranian drama It Was Just an Accident and the apparent front-runner, Brazil’s The Secret Agent.
Not on the final list is Iraq’s nominee for the honor—though it’s hard to say why, because the film is a gem.
The President’s Cake, written and directed by Hasan Hadi, is the alternately sad, funny and nail-biting story of Lamia, a 9-year-old girl who receives an unwanted honor: Thanks to a classroom lottery, she’s one of many citizens from across the country who are chosen to bake birthday cakes in honor of dictatorial leader Saddam Hussein.
What makes this task so difficult is that the tale is set in 1990, when Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait has made it the target of military attacks and economic sanctions. As a result, day-to-day survival is hard enough, and finding necessary ingredients such as flour and sugar is nearly impossible.
Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef) seldom goes anywhere without her pet rooster, Hindi.
Portrayed with a combination of pluck and vulnerability by Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Lamia is already living on the edge—literally, as her home is located in the swampy Mesopotamian Marshes. Apparently parentless, the child shares a tiny home with her diabetic grandmother, Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat), and a rooster named Hindi. Beyond the pet bird, her only friend seems to be Saeed (Sajad Mohamad Qasem), a neighbor with a reputation for getting into trouble.
When Lamia tells Bibi about her cake-making assignment, the grandmother insists that she skip classes the next day so they can take a trip to the city. Lamia assumes the purpose is to find the proper ingredients, but it turns out Bibi has something else in mind. Knowing her health is failing, the elderly woman plans to leave Lamia with a friend who’s better able to take care of her.
Unfortunately, Lamia mistakes her grandmother’s concern for anger, and she grabs her pet rooster and escapes into the streets of Baghdad. Knowing her friend Saeed had also planned to be in the city that day, she meets up with him and enlists his help as she proceeds to search for the elusive cake ingredients.
The result is a perilous journey that could be described as Dickensian (as in Charles) or Chaplinesque (as in Charlie). Nearly everyone they meet tries to ignore, cheat or even harm them, forcing them to rely on each other and on their own ingenuity. A fine cast, led by the talented youngsters playing Lamia and Saeed, makes it a gripping experience.
Like the aforementioned It Was Just an Accident, Hadi’s debut film portrays a country distorted by authoritarian politics. Hussein’s insistence on total devotion can be seen in the chants of allegiance Lamia and her classmates are forced to repeat every day, and in the countless images of him that can be seen displayed on Baghdad streets.
Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, right) searches for cake ingredients with her friend, Saeed (Sajad Mohammad Qasem).
The film also shows how ordinary Iraqis are hurt by the world’s responses to Hussein’s aggression, including military attacks and sanctions that keep necessary food and medicine out of their hands. It’s a reminder that even well-intentioned actions can have unintended consequences, though it somewhat dilutes Hadi’s political message.
Maybe this helps to explain why the film didn’t score an Oscar nom even though it has so much to offer. Besides an absorbing story, its portrayal of a country under the control of a leader who demands constant obedience and adoration is a chilling vision of where the awards’ host country could well be headed.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
The President’s Cake opened Feb. 6 in New York and Los Angeles and will open wide on Feb. 27.This article first appeared here
