Marek Šulík: Ms.President

Access… is what Slovak director and cameraman Marek Šulík was given to film Zuzana Čaputová during the five years she was president of Slovakia, from 2019 till 2024. An access – with limitations of course – that included Šulík was present, when Čaputová was with advisers discussing/preparing the huge amount of speeches and official duties a president has in a country that – as neighbouring Hungary – is full of right-wing orientated political parties, escalating after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zuzana Čaputová is seen on her trip to Kyiv, talking to the parliament, meeting Zelenskyj and on a tour to watch the consequences of Russian bombings. Back home in Bratislava she is met with Russian orientated demonstrations.

Otherwise Čaputová walks to press conferences, holds speeches, have one-to-one conversations, asks questions to the group of people, who works for her in the Palace, talks emotionally about her family at the same time as she continues to say that she wants to protect her daughters from the public spotlight that – as the film shows – becomes more and more nasty, her being called “an agent”, “a bitch”, “an American whore” receiving death threats and so on. Writing this the day before the American election takes place – we know it, we have heard it, we hear it.

She is welcoming the Pope in sequences that are quite emotional as her father is near death, the Pope knows about that and you see him comforting her. But tears roll from her eyes. And through the whole film you get the impression of a woman – I want to stay “a quality mother” as she says in the beginning of the film – who wants the best for her country and its population and who shows positive human tolerance, for instance at a sequence that deals with the killing of two LGBT people, that gathered huge demonstrations.

At the end of the film a woman approaches Čaputová thanking her for her way of being an open and caring President, asking her to go for another term. Later she says that she does not have the strength and Šulík brings a wonderful shot of her with the daughters.

Access… like Pavel Koutecký had when he filmed Vaclav Havel for 14 years for “Citizen Havel” that was finished by Mira Janek… gave us another great film, that won the Opus Bonum at the Jihlava FF the other day.

Slovakia/Czech Republic, 2024, 110 mins.