Prime Minister

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

I may not be familiar with Jacinda Ardern but this documentary is a good examination of Ardern's role and views as a former Prime Minister, and the struggles she encountered and went through in the past. Captured with good footage, direction, and approach, the documentary features a good sense of realism and humane atmospheres. Demonstrating both the political aspect and personal aspects Ardern is facing.

The filmmakers are able to humanize Ardern on an emotional level. Being able to understand her more thoroughly and understand why she believed things this way and that way. Ardern might not been a perfect person but her passion and her ambitious views demonstrates how difficult and challenging as a Prime Minister can be.

I throughly enjoyed this moving film. In it, is an intimate look into the complexties and challenges of leading a country, while also staying true to yourself and valuing connection, family and doing the right thing.

I've long admired Jacinda Ardean's leadership approach, putting people first, consulting with experts and not being afraid to make the tough decisions. Decisions that may not be the most popular, but with all the information at her fingertips, she is equipped with the knowledge to lead. Through it all, she has a thriving family and enviable strong, loving and caring relationship with her husband.

Highly recommend!

Nice. Kept me engaged and interested. Having been to New Zealand just prior to the major events taking place (the mosque, weapons ban and covid) it was interesting to see how Ardern's views and decisions were made based on being a mother with her small newborn daughter. I think the documentary was able to capture the stress, the feelings, the anxiety, the immense responsibility that any politician or decision maker might feel during a stint in office. Certainly nothing to take lightly and I feel that the film makers ability to capture that mantle that lies on world leaders was fantastic. I applaud PM Jacinda Ardern for her resolve as such a young female leader.

This is quite possibly the worst documentary I've ever seen. Don't waste your time. It plays more like a self-congratulatory PR piece than an honest account. Rather than offering a balanced view, it's just Jacinda Ardern telling the world how kind, caring, and empathetic she supposedly was - a narrative many New Zealanders know doesn't reflect reality. There's no serious scrutiny, no opposing voices, and no acknowledgment of the damage done during her time in office. As a New Zealander myself, I found the whole thing deeply offensive - a tone-deaf attempt to rewrite history. Truly embarrassing stuff.

I had to write a review though I very rarely do. I'm an American expat and a New Zealand citizen. Experiencing first hand the Jacinda years, especially as a comparison against the Trump years, she was an amazing and inspirational national leader. This film accurately captures what it was like during her tenure and how all of the country felt towards her, good and bad. What happened at the end of her tenure is a national disgrace. We lost a great leader and this film accurately portrays this too. It also happens to be a very well made documentary, fully engaging from beginning to end. Negative reviews are clearly political and from the opposition. Review the film and leave your politics at the door.