Finally went to see The Last King of Scotland over the weekend. A bit of a misleading title, as the story details how a young Scottish doctor goes to 1970s Uganda and falls in with legendary dictator Idi Amin. The movie is pretty rubbish outside the scenery (probably filmed in South Africa anyway, as almost all 'African' movies are) and Forest Whittaker's chilling portrayal of Amin.
But if you don't know the intricacies of 1970s Ugandan politics, you'll be pretty lost. The movie never really explains why Amin came to power and why the dissidents he murdered wanted him out. His paranoia of being assassinated or overthrown really drives his character and the film, but it seems contrived as we learn nothing more about the rebels other than they're 'Obote's Men' (the former president). Obote is never shown or even discussed in passing, really.
Also, the film glossed over Amin being a Muslim ruler in a majority Christian country (there's a reason to be worried), only making fleeting references to him funding the PLO and propping up Libya's Islamic regime.
I dunno, maybe I'm being too critical but the characters seemed cliched and two dimensional: the naive white guy that goes to Africa to 'make a difference', the African 'strong man' dictator who claims to be a man of the people but purges political opponents and converts public money into private wealth.
4 comments:
My sister's boyfriend said that he went to school with Idi Amin's son and that they used to tease him and say things like "Did your dad eat anyone today?"
I don't think I'd be picking on Idi Amin's son.
You didn't like it, eh? I've been wanting to see this one (though I didn't even know it was out yet) for a bit. I guess I'll just have to take heart in the fact we often don't see eye-to-eye on films, though I'd be interested in hearing the exact nature of your complaints. Just too Hollywood?
"I'd be interested in hearing the exact nature of your complaints"
If you don't know the intricacies of 1970s Ugandan politics, you'll be pretty lost. The movie never really explains why Amin came to power and why the dissidents he murdered wanted him out. His paranoia of being assassinated or overthrown really drives his character and the film, but it seems contrived as we learn nothing more about the rebels other than they're 'Obote's Men' (the former president). Obote is never shown or even discussed in passing, really.
Also, the film glossed over Amin being a Muslim ruler in a majority Christian country (there's a reason to be worried), only making fleeting references to him funding the PLO and propping up Libya's Islamic regime.
I dunno, maybe I'm being too critical but the characters seemed cliched and two dimensional: the naive white guy that goes to Africa to 'make a difference', the African 'strong man' dictator who claims to be a man of the people but purges political opponents and converts public money into private wealth.
Still without having seen it, those sound like very fair and reasonable criticisms. Thank you, sir.
And I would say I know more than a good number about '70s Uganda, which still puts me at shockingly little and far less than you, I'm sure.
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