Rough visit: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef and friend in ‘The President’s Cake’.

THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE **** (106 minutes) M
Not that anyone needed convincing about how rotten life was in sanctions-riddled Iraq under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, yet this remarkable, touching, quietly powerful film from Iraqi director Hasan Hadi shows just how wretched things were in the 1990s through the eyes of a nine-year old girl.

Charged by her nasty, leader-loving teacher to bake a cake for Saddam Hussein’s 50th birthday, Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef) heads off the the city with her aged grandmother Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat) and pet rooster to gather the ingredients, despite having almost no money.

Her experience, frankly, is one kick after another. Help from her friend Saeed (Sajad Mohamad Qasem) doesn’t make things any easier as they traverse the shambolic streets and encounter people whose casual contempt for children comes through with distressing clarity. 

Their attempts to acquire money and steal merchandise offer stark illustrations of childhood deprivation, with one scene involving a watch seller proving especially heart-breaking.

Given the grim nature of Lamia’s thorny traverse through an openly hostile urban terrain, Hadi nonetheless weaves in ironic moments of visual beauty and long takes. He clearly loves shooting widescreen and certainly knows how to deliver a truly memorable finale.

Filmed in Iraq, the cast is composed mostly of amateur actors. This comes as something of a surprise given how convincing and naturalistic the performances are, with special kudos to the film’s lead who does a sterling job keeping the film together. What a gifted child actor.

The film boasts an impressive Hollywood pedigree.

Hadi co-wrote with veteran scribe Eric Roth, whose credits include Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich, Ali, Dune, Benjamin Button, stretching as far back as The Drowning Pool, The Onion Field and, most impressively, The Concorde…Airport ’79.

Producers include director Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl; Can You Ever Forgive Me?; A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) and Chris Columbus, who directed Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire, Harry Potter 1&2 and Pixels (still an under-appreciated family film).

Not bad for a low-budget indie from Iraq.

Winner of the Caméra d’Or and Audience Award at Cannes last year, the film is getting a limited release. Catch it before it vanishes. It’s a real gem.

THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE ***1/2 (98 minutes) PG
Here’s the big family treat this Easter, and there’s not much to say save that it’s the glorious sequel to 2023’s Super Mario Bros Movie is even better.

Thanks largely to the lark taking place in outer space we are gifted some ravishing fantasy settings and cityscapes as Mario & Luigi team up with Princess Peaches to rescue her sister Princess Rosalina, who has been abducted by revenge-thirsty Bowser Jr.

Forming the most interesting story strand is his dad, imprisoned and reduced to trinket size by Mario, who takes on shades of nastiness here.

It’s Bowser’s arc that grounds the film amidst all the beautifully rendered, candy-coloured action and unavoidable 8-bit references to the classic video game.

Attending a 4.30pm screening at Hoyts Imax, it was a delight to spy a gaggle of young adults wearing Mario shirts and bearing Mario merch, including dolls. 

Chatting to them briefly afterwards, they spoke lovingly of the pure fun and escapism of the various Mario games and how much they loved the film.

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