The Last King of Scotland

[Dolemite]

I just saw this. It stars Forest Whitaker the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and deals with his coup in 1971 and his violent reign which lasted until 1979.

Whitaker is amazing but the movie suffers a little because it really doesn't show any of the butchering Amin's army or secret police did to Uganda's population (the overall death toll is said to be anywhere from 80,000 to 300,000). The movie just focuses on Amin and his relationship with his personal doctor (the movie plays from the doctor's viewpoint). In fact, if you knew nothing about the history of Uganda or Idi Amin, you really wouldn't think he was such a bad guy. I'm not saying that they omit the crimes that were going on there completely, but it's secondary and in the background. It's like making a movie about Hitler and glossing over what happened to all the Jews. It's a fairly major flaw.

Other than that, it's a great flick. It's only in a limited release so try and track it down.

[johnk_]

Thanks for the impressions.. I'm planning on seeing this because Whitaker is awesome in everything. Even Phone Booth, somehow.